Wednesday Night Meals 9/8/2010 05:00PM-06:30PM Location: Faith Hall
Join us any Wednesday for supper between 5:00-6:30pm. Meal menus in website announcements.
Do you know of anyone around you who's not actively involved in a church, or may not be actively involved? Can you imagine any such person approaching you and saying, "Gee, you know my schedule just isn't busy enough. There are too many open slots on my calendar, I just don't know what to do! Does your church have any totally worthless, unnecessary meetings that I could attend with you? Or do you have any trivial discussions/debates about meaningless issues that I could waste some time on?"
Of course, I'm being a LITTLE sarcastic here (okay, a lot!).
My point is, there are few if any people you know who are just looking to fill some time these days and so might consider getting involved in a church. I doubt that has ever been the case, but the reality today is many people have more options for the use of their time than other generations had available. Going to church just to get together with people or to have something to do is not enough anymore, if it ever was. And that's good!
Because the problems in the world today and the needs in people's lives are urgent and pressing, and for many of these problems and needs Christ is the way! The Church must be clear about focusing our time, our money, and our efforts on the things that matter most to our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Other groups can do some things far better than we will ever be able to do. If we make it our PURPOSE to entertain....well, there are people who can do that better than the church. If we make it our PURPOSE to 'help people,'...well there are a lot of worthy groups that do that in addition to the church.
But nobody can show the love of Jesus better than His Church at our best! If we point people toward ourselves, or only our church activities, we will miss the reason for the church, and most people won't be interested anyway. But there are lots of people who intuitively know they need a Savior, someone bigger than their problems. And while we may not know everything about Him, we just might know enough to help someone connect and relate with the God we know through Jesus Christ. A simple invite to come with us to something at your church might just open the door to the One they really are seeking.
Several people have wondered aloud to me why the people of Chile don't seem to be getting the same amount of media attention, and the public may not be paying as much attention, as the situation in Haiti a few weeks earlier.
There are probably several reasons why this is the case. Here are some possibilities....
(1) The massive death toll in Haiti was sudden and dramatic. The death toll in Chile while tragic and growing is less dramatic.
(2) The lack of building standards in Haiti means the destruction was virtually total in Port au Prince. The destruction is significant in Chile, in a different way.
(3) There can be something of 'tragedy fatigue.' It seems that the public generally and we as individuals can deal with a finite amount of tragedy in a period of time. If the situations had taken place in reverse order, perhaps the attention level would have been different.
(4) It may feel to some people, especially in New York City and in Florida, that Haiti is a next-door neighbor. Chile is somewhat more removed.
Why do you think the reaction of the American media and public may be less intense toward Chile? Whatever the reasons, let us continue to pray for hurting people in these countries and elsewhere around the world. Let us strive to resist evil, and to relieve suffering, as God gives us the eyes to see it and the power to do something about it.
One of the side benefits of going to another country is to see one's own context from a different perspective. That's especially true when going to a nation such as Haiti. The mission to Haiti gave me some space and time to reflect on the purposes of the Church. I invite you to think about three aspects of the Christian life as priorities:
1. Resist evil.
While the Church spend a lot of time and money on lesser matters, there is something called 'evil' that's real in the world which we are called to resist and overcome with good in the name of Christ. One example of evil is the situation of restaveks in Haiti. As many as 300,000 children in Haiti are slaves. I know that's a strong term, but there's no other word that can be used. Child slavery exists elsewhere in the world as well -- including the United States. How can we as Real Followers of Jesus turn our heads away?
2. Relieve suffering.
Matthew 25 and other scripture passages make clear that our relationship with God is directly related to relieving suffering in people around us. No, we can't do everything, but as Mother Teresa once said, "If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one." We are called not just to relieve suffering from a distance, but personally be willing to see and stand alongside people in their suffering.
3. Relate people to God and each other.
There are people and forces in the world that want to keep people polarized from each other for personal power and economic gain. Christ broke down the barrier between humanity and God, and through Him brings people into deeper community with one another. People who otherwise would not make time and room for each other do so because of the love of Christ, who has made room for us. People need God to be fully human, made in the image of God. People need one another to experience and express the love of God.
How much of what we presently do as church people focus on these three priorities? What might we need to add, or subtract, from what we do to live as Real Followers?
I didn't have access to a computer for the remaining days of the trip, so here is a partial summary of Saturday, February 20, through Monday, February 22.
I was not scheduled to leave Haiti until late afternoon, which was good in that it gave me most of the day there. The guesthouse hostess asked me to take food to Jackson in the hospital without her along, which was fine. It gave me an opportunity to speak more to Jackson myself. (He's the man who was in the earthquake, with two daughters, wife deceased.) I tried to explain to him what the plan was for him -- he and his daughters would go to Port au Prince, and someone would meet them there at the bus stop to take them to a village not destroyed in the area, where someone had arranged housing for them for several months. Not sure he quite grasped the whole concept.
And then I explained that I would be leaving later that day. When I had a prayer and said goodbye, all I could do was look and walk toward the door and not look back, knowing that it was the last time I would see Jackson. I suppose it's possible we would encounter each other again sometime in the future, but it's so unlikely that I felt the parting as a final goodbye.
Jean Michel wanted to take me on a tour of areas of Cayes I had not yet seen. We went back to the area the restaurant is located at which we had eaten previously, but this time in daylight so I could see the ocean. There is a small island off the coast of the main part of Hispanola which is accessible by boat. Jean Michel described it as lush and quite a resort area for locals who have resources.
Driving further in the area we came across a large dwelling behind a wall and gate. As is customary in this scenario, JM honked the horn, and a man came and opened the gate so we could go into the drive and courtyard area. As we talked with him, we learned that he is a retired American from New Jersey. His wife is originally from Haiti, so they came back in retirement and built a beautiful hotel/motel -- the nicest I've seen in Haiti. The owner described the rooms being with airconditioning, HOT water, and wifi. They don't have a restaurant, but the owners will call to the nearby restaurants to have food delivered.
The couple had the hotel/motel built and worked on it themselves, in a process that took several years for reasons I won't go into detail about. And again, it's very nice -- for $75 USD a night, which is extremely reasonable given the location just yards away from the ocean, and the ocean breeze blowing cool winds. Right now, several people with the UN Security force were staying there.
We continued our tour with JM wanting to show me some of the very large, new homes that are in a "subdivision" at the edge of Cayes. Some of the he said would cost $1 million USD, and I can easily believe it. JM also acknowledged that some of the homes would have been built by people who made considerable money in the drug business.
JM saw a large building with an open gate. I say open, but there was a tower at the gate with a guard in it. We weren't sure if the building was a home, or apartments, or businesses or something else. JM was interested in finding out by driving into the compound, which the guard clearly didn't think was a good ideas although I don't know exactly what he was saying. JM asked him what the building was, and found out there were businesses in it.
JM decided to drive in, anyway, which made me slightly nervous.
But not quite as nervous as I was for a moment when looked back to see the guard had come down out of the tower with what looked like an automatic weapon hanging over his shoulder. (I have no idea if it was loaded or not.)
No, he didn't point it at us. JM calmly talked to the guard and another man who was sitting on the front steps, and then we left. It was the only time I felt at all somewhat insecure about my well being in Haiti.
I don't write the above to alarm anyone, but I want to be as open as possible about my experriences. Is Haiti safe to travel in? Is Cayes safe to be in? I would definitely say "yes," taking appropriate cautions that one would take when traveling anywhere overseas, and especially in developing nations. I never was concerned about safety at the guesthouse, or on the streets of Cayes during the day, or in the church in Cayes, or in the countryside.
Pastor Jacob had talked to me earlier in the week about seeing a church near Cayes where he apparently had some work project in mind. Somewhat reluctantly, JM took me there. We drove down a long road with people and houses all around, near a river. Somewhat surprised, I discovered we were now in what had to be one of the financially poorest part of the area. The river was being used for all kinds of purposes. Driving further into the countryside we came across a small building that was the church. It seemed to me people with "white faces" as sometimes Caucasians are described, probably did not come into this area often, if at all. Instantly we had 20-25 curious onlookers -- again not threatening at all, just wondering what we were doing there.
A lay leader of the church (apparently) came and let us into the small building, which wasn't locked. It was a dirt floor, with old, well worn benches for people, and a simple table at the front, but decorated in a somewhat similar way to the Methodist Church in Cayes with paper chains and a boquet of artificial flowers, covered during the week with plastic. And God was worshipped there on Sundays, to the glory of God. I took some pictures that I'll get posted before long.
We went to the airport to wait for the plane. Peter, my contact on the way down, arrived to point the way. Another American couple trying to find a way out of Haiti at the end of their mission trip asked as Peter led me out the door toward the plane, "Got room for a couple more?" And without hesitation, Peter said yes. They were going to have some logistical challenges, in that other members of their team had flown to the Bahamas, where they also had an overnight room reservation, but it was flying with us to Ft. Lauderdale or staying in Haiti until who knows when. They came with us.
There's more to this story, but enough for now.
Sunday I spent reflecting on the experiences of the past couple of weeks, and working on a vision that had germinated for Immanuel Church during these days. Monday took me back to Omaha via Minneapolis, which gave further time for reflection and to outline some of the ways that I could talk about the trip to people -- anything from 30-seconds to 30 minutes.
I got home in time that it would have been physically possible for me to attend Administrative Council, but I wasn't ready to jump right in and start trying to describe the trip and what might be ahead for Immanuel and others concerning possible ways to be of support in Haiti. Besides, I had a higher priority my first night back.
Beyond the individual circumstances of earthquake survivors and so many people in need in Haiti, there are circumstances hidden but not so hidden in the shadows....not openly discussed in my experience here, not given significant attention in the U.S. or other economically developed nations...and can be ignored if we choose, but as Christians we cannot.
In some ways they are not different than the shadows that exist in the U.S. Every nation has some shadows it ignores to its peril.
Here are a few of which I've become more aware in Haiti.....
1. Child Trafficking -- You know about the Americans arrested as they sought to take some children out of the country. That's not even the tip of the matter. There is significant internal AND external child trafficking of poor children, from desperate households or with no families. Poor families will sometimes send a child to live with a more wealthy family and be expected to do household chores. More than a few families take advantage of this, providing little food for the child, no education, and heavy demands, if not also physical and sexual abuse. It happens with Haitian children IN Haiti, and IN the Dominican Republic, and elsewhere in the world.
2. Child abuse -- some children are physically abused in Haiti, as they are in the U.S. Google the words "child" "abuse" "haiti", and your eyes will be opened -- if you are willing and brave enough.
3. Drugs -- The political chaos over decades makes Haiti a waystation for drugs to the U.S. Of course, no market demand, no drugs.
4. Corruption -- there is significant abuse, taking advantage of people economically. Something like 50% of the wealth of Haiti is in the hands of 2% of the population.
Pray for Haiti. Pray for us. Pray that we don't turn away from the shadows but walk through the valley of the shadows fearing no evil for God is with us!
This morning Virginia (of the guesthouse) and I took food to Jackson at Hopital Lumiere. The lower ward in which he had been staying was closed. In fact, it looked like all the patients down on that level had either left or moved up to the main level. I take that as a good sign here in Cayes -- to some degree people injured in the earthquake are getting better and leaving the hospital, at least this one.
The plan now is for Jackson and his two girls to come over to the guesthouse Sunday afternoon, so that they can be taken to Port au Prince on Monday. There someone will meet them to take them to a home being rented in a village outside PAP. They will have a little money to get them started....not much, but at least something. But they don't know anyone there. It's a brand new life for them.
I won't go into all the details, but Virginia's ankle was hurt at the guesthouse in a fall. While we were at Hopital Lumier a doctor took a look at it and suggested getting an x-ray, which the hospital has available. Fortunately, although very sore there doesn't appear to be a fracture. Total cost of care -- doctor didn't charge I'm sure, x-ray -- $10 US.
I met with Pastor Jacob of the Methodist Church. I wanted to be able to talk with him, or better, to listen to him about what he understands the vision and priorities for the churches are.
After lunch Virginia and I went to the Sisters of Charity again, to ask about a boy that was at Immaculate Conception Hopital. Someone had told Virginia he had HIV/AIDS. The sisters with whom we talked asked if the boy had family. They have what I believe is a reasonable practice for many households in Haiti. If a child has family, the sisters do not take the child into their facility. Instead they do what they can to support the child IN the family with modest financial resources, food, etc.
In Haiti, there are many financially poor parents who feel they have no choice but to take their child to an orphanage for care, because they cannot support the child. It may be inadvertently this encourages some parents and family members into the practice, thus perpetuating it. There's no easy solution.
Bottom line -- we went back to the hospital, and found out according to a nurse the child in question does NOT have AIDS, but has been abandoned, and clearly has some mental disabilities (which we knew previously). Virginia explained the process by which sometimes abandoned children are accepted into the Sisters of Charity care. A caring person brings the child at night to the Sisters, rings the bell, and the sisters receive the child if he or she literally has no one to care for him/her.
And some GOOD news -- Virginia learned from another source that little Jean Davidson has been taken to an orphanage, where he is receiving loving care! I'll sleep just a little better tonight.
The plan now is for me to go to my friend Jean Michel to see his house which is 'in progress.' And then this evening the plan is to meet with the Methodist Church Steward -- perhaps a little bit like a Lay Leader for us.
Every day brings new experiences. I had thought by now my schedule would be 'routine,' but nothing is routine about Haiti for someone who is not Hatian and has not lived here for years.
This morning I had a lengthy discussion/meeting with Jean Michel Basquin, who our family has known for some time. As I've mentioned in worship, he has a PhD in agriculture from South Dakota State University (I think it's that university -- not USD). Jean Michel is seeking to put together a multi-disciplinary 'think tank' to work together and not see the problems of Haiti from only one perspective. He may be on to something. A challenge anywhere and thus here also is to get a group of people all pulling together in the same general direction. Pray for Jean Michel.
I went to Brenda Hospital again today to make visits. I don't know if it's because of the number of days I've been here, or because of the severity of the injuries of the people I visited today, or both, or something else -- but I'm not embarrassed to say it was challenging today. Almost all the patients in Brenda Hospital are earthquake survivors, many of whom arrived only a day or two or three after the earthquake. Thus, those who remain were among those who needed more medical attention and healing.
Several tents have been set up on the Brenda Hospital grounds by UNICEF for the overflow of patients who came for treatment.
But there is also good news....Clearly a number of patients have been released from the hospital in the brief time I've been here. There were actually some empty beds, and that was not the case a week ago today. Praise God!
Of course, many of the people released from the hospital lost everything they had in the earthquake. They have no homes to which to return. So pray for those people released from the hospital as well as those who are still there.
"There's an app for that!" I intentionally put 3 children's oriented applications on my cell phone before leaving for Haiti, and they've been a real hit. I love to see the children smile as they interact with the apps. You see, there's not much -- no for most of the patients including the children there's nothing to do during the day. So just to bring some smiles -- well, as you can imagine it brought smiles to me as well.
And why should I be surprised that two people ASKED me to pray for them, that they would receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord today?! I didn't expect that to happen when I came to Haiti. I didn't expect it the other day. I didn't expect it today....maybe I should just start expecting it? Hearts are searching and open. We call Jesus Christ the 'Hope of the World.' For a lot of the people I've visited, it's more than just words.
Virginia and I went to visit a man, Jackson, at Hospital Lumiere, up the hill/mountain just outside Cayes. Virginia took supper to him. His spirits are good, even with the fact we learned today that he presumes his wife was killed in the earthquake. He had an amazing story of grace following the earthquake.
A wall came down and deeply wounded his leg. I believe it was the next day after the earthquake, maybe two, that he was along a road in Port au Prince with his two daughters. "A chauffer," which I believe means simply a driver in a car, came along and saw him. He saw his wounds. The driver said 'get in, and we'll get you help." Jackson didn't even ask where they were going, as long as it was away from PAP.
The driver brought him to the hospital in Cayes. This stranger paid for Jackson's surgery....and left money for his ongoing care.
Gee, I think I read a story similar to that in the Bible!! Don't tell me the Bible is just ancient, outdated teachings that have no relevance to our times and culture!
In some way I'm not completely sure about, he became connected with a woman from the States who was staying at the guesthouse last week. She and others working with her arranged for him to get to Lumiere where, with better technical equipment, it was determined his leg would not have to be amputated. A friend of one of this team, who is a resident of Cayes, is taking care of the girls. The team has arranged and paid for a house to rent in a village in the rural area outside PAP for Jackson and his girls to live in, when he can make the journey. None of them have clothes or anything else except what they have on....but that will be changed as well.
Wouldn't you want to be part of saving a life like Jackson and his daughters, and giving someone a future and a hope, because of the love of God in Jesus Christ that has been shown to you? Could you do that in Des Moines? Could you do that in Haiti?
One more piece of news....God willing, I'll be home late Monday afternoon/early evening, February 22! The man who arranged for me to go on the flight IN has also arranged for me to leave on a flight that's coming to Cayes to deliver more aid....and thus will have room for passengers on the way out. I had a feeling somehow that God would take care of it. And...whatever you are facing, it's true for you as well.
1. Pray for Jackson and his girls.
2. Continue to pray for the children of Haiti. I'm losing track...did I already blog that 50% of Haiti's population is under the age of 18? Does that help explain ONE of the factors that has led to extreme poverty, among many others? Pray for the children.
3. Pray for those released from the hospital, as well as those who remain.
4. Pray I will use my remaining days on this trip to Haiti, God willing, to strengthen the hearts and souls of those who will continue to live and work here for the sake of Jesus Christ, for the sake of Christ's Church, and in God's love for our neighbors. Because these ARE our neighbors. It takes about 2 hours or so from South Florida to Haiti....about the time it takes to get from Des Moines to Iowa City, isn't it? (Okay, not for some of you!)
This morning the guest house hostess and I again took food to the man in Lumiere Hospital. He seems to be making progress, I'm glad to say.
We spent the rest of the morning graciously received at Espwa -- an orphanage that is doing tremendous work on behalf of the children of Haiti. They have over 600 children living at the orphanage compound outside of Cayes! In addition, another 600 children from the area attend school at Espwa. All of the children are fed. All of them are cared for, not in a huge warehouse, but rather in houses of about 25 children each, and each with a house-mother. A child is not kicked out at 18. They are given training and mentoring in a number of work fields. I was so impressed with the staff. Espwa was started by a Roman Catholic priest, Father Marc, who prefers just to be known as "Marc". He's still leading the efforts, and the ministry, unfortunately in terms of the need, is growing. God willing, I'll have more to share about what I learned from Marc when I get back. But the last thing he said to me was in Creole -- the English being, "Don't forget us."
Maybe that's the most important lesson of all.
Pastor Jacob and I went to visit at the other hospital in Cayes today. It had been an eye hospital, but after the earthquake it was turned into a general hospital for earthquake victims. Pastor Jacob conversed with them. I prayed, and he translated, and then he prayed. Again we were able to see 25-30 people. We try to take a little time with each, and not just rush through.
The guest house hostess, Virginia, had asked me to go back to Immaculate Conception Hospital to check on little Jean Davidson. We went into Pediatrics....he was not there. I don't think he was so ill that he would have died since seeing him last, unless something unexpected happened. Where is he? We were sent among 4 different people in Pediatrics -- a supervisor, nurse, and assistants.
No one knew. Or if they knew, they weren't going to tell us. All I know is the pastor clearly was not too please with the people we talked with, as we left.
I received just a tiny....tiny...tiny inclination of what it must be like for thousands, yes 100s of thousands or even millions of people who don't know where a family member is after the earthquake. I had just encountered Jean briefly, and he touched my heart. These persons have beloved and they don't know what their situation is.
Virginia is going to check at the hospital again.
The pastor felt comfortable enough with me to share some of his visions and dreams, and how we could be of help perhaps. They are not outlandish dreams.
Tonight, God willing, we'll go the the last in the series of worship services at which I'll preach during this visit.
How can you pray?
1. Pray for Marc and Natalie, and all the children and workers at Espwa. www.espwa.blogspot.com
2. Continue to pray for earthquake survivors.
3. Pray for Jean Davidson and all the children of Haiti.
4. Pray for me as I preach tonight.
5. Pray that God will use the remaining time I have this trip, God willing, in the most effective ways, to do the most good.
Lumiere is a Baptist Hospital and compound on a substantial campus up a mountain very near Cayes. They seem to have significant financial backing. The buildings were in more than good shape. They appeared to have equipment -- a laboratory, some support equipment, a pharmacy etc. How sick people would be able to get up the mountain is puzzling. It would not be a comfortable ride with broken limbs. People who are seriously ill by no means could walk up to it. Still, it provides a great service to the area.
I went back to the Immaculate Conception Hospital and visited more people, most of whom were earthquake survivors. We encountered what could be anticipated: The initial shock had been overcome, and now numerous persons were awakening to what they had survived. People said they never stopped thinking about the earthquake, and many are afraid all the time. Two or three people were severely traumatized, to the degree that they could not speak, at least one refused to eat. If someone was dealing with depression or other conditions before the earthquake, it was more than enough to lead them into a deep hole. Pray for such persons.
The worship services continue in the evening at the Methodist Church, and again I was privileged to preach. As much as I feel privileged to do so, I hope that it is also giving the pastor some relief.
This morning I went along with the guest house hostess, Virginia, to take food to a patient at the Lumiere Hospital, up a mountainside near Cayes. The Hospital and area surrounding it is operated by a Baptist group. It had the finest, cleanest hospital I've seen in Haiti. It appeared to be well financed, and the ongoing medical staff lived in quite nice, large homes. Clean, new vehicles were around the compound.
The man we went to see, Jackson, had survived the earthquake with his two children, and ended up coming to Cayes. He had a deeply infected leg, to the point where one doctor said an amputation was going to be needed. But getting him up to Lumiere, a doctor there said the infection could be treated. Perhaps both doctors were right. Outside of Lumiere, I doubt treatment would have been available.
We went to see him primarily to take food to him, because as you probably read in another blog, hospital patients receive food from family or others, or they don't receive food period. That's true even at Lumiere apparently.
Virginia was along and speaks a little Creole, but not much. So there were a lot of hand gestures, and with Jackson's limited English, the conversation could go on pretty well.
I had not seen anything quite like the Lumiere compound anywhere else in Haiti. But it would be a difficult journey to get to it if one were sick or badly injured.
This is part one because I'll be heading to the hospital in the city again today to visit, Immaculate Conception Hospital, and again preach in worship this evening, God willing.
Jean Michel took me along to the Methodist Church in Damas on Sunday morning. Damas is a very small villiage up the side of a mountain beyond Les Cayes. The road was paved to the edge of the city, and then for some time it was wide and similar to gravel. The road became somewhat more narrow and made of rocks. And then as we traveled up the mountain on a winding road, the rocks were somewhat larger. It was clearly a road, but not like the county roads in Iowa.
The mountains and the valleys were beautiful, even though as you may have heard much of the mountains have been deforrested through the decades. Occasionally, there would be a small patch of land on the steep side of a mountain that someone was farming. Jean Michel told me later he heard of a time when a farmer "fell off his field" landing on the road some distance below.
The Methodist Church sanctuary in Damas is the size of some rural churches in Iowa, and it was packed for a special celebration. Children wearing their Sunday best sat in the first few rows to observe and when possible participate in the service. (There were not children's worship bags.) Guests from Methodist Churches elsewhere in the area had come for this special "Harvest" day, what I might compare to our Consecration Sunday. At one point in the service members of the church came forward with their special offering to support the congregation.
There was lots of congregational singing, lots of small group, solos, and trios. An infant was baptized. An adult was baptized. Ten youth and young adults were received into church membership. I preached, and then the pastor graciously asked me to assist with communion. (Pretty sure the cup was wine.)
After the service we were quickly ushered to the one other small room in the church, where a meal had been prepared for us and for other guests. It included rice and beans, which is a staple for most people, yams on which one puts a sauce, and small pieces of meat, which I'm sure is for special occasions. I watched others and like them took only one piece of meat, one or two bites. Not sure what it was, but it was good!
Yes, the thought went through my mind, is this okay for me to eat? Well, I'm typing this on Monday morning, so I guess it was! They were so gracious to offer the meal. Talk about radical hospitality! I could not NOT accept the gift.
Sunday evening was another time of worship in Cayes. I don't know how long they had already been worshipping when we arrived at the time Pastor Jacob requested, at 6 p.m. The portion of the service we attended ran a couple of hours. I was told some people gave testimonies about how God saved them through the earthquake.
How can you pray?
1. Pray for the pastors of Haiti who are working tirelessly for the sake of their congregations.
2. Pray for the remaining worship services at which I'm scheduled to preach, God willing, on Monday and Tuesday evening.
3. For all the people who literally have nothing now after the earthquake -- no possessions, no homes, in some cases no family.
4. Give God thanks for the assistance that is coming into Haiti, and pray that it will continue for a long time into the future.
The days are running together now....I'll see if I can put myself back to Saturday for a few more updates.
Ah yes....
While we were at the hospital, a group from a Haitian church came through the ward. There were children and adults, and two of the adults were carrying a banner, I presume with the name of the church or a witness statement on it. The group stood in the aisle in this one-room ward, and prayed together -- with great fervor -- for all the people of the ward simultaneously. They also sang songs to God. The group continued for what seems like perhaps 10 minutes singing and praying. I was impressed to see there were children along. I was also glad to see that clearly it was not just the pastor, but the church ministering together.
It wouldn't be my personal style for prayer and witness, but God can use a lot of different means of connecting with people.
I do recall from the other day at the 'tent city' (where some displaced people are staying) that we heard 'everybody is coming through here. First it was the Jehovah Witnesses, and then it was the Mormons, and then it was the Baptists, and now someone is setting up for an evangelistic ralley on the soccer field, so we had to move our tents closer together." Somehow, we must find ways to care for people without imposing on them. And we can't assume that everyone in these kinds of circumstances don't already have a relationship with God. When we come, we don't BRING Christ to people. We prayerfully discern what God is ALREADY doing, and seek to be a blessing to GOD'S presence and work, not just ask God to bless OUR work.
There's a phrase that I've come across several places in recent weeks, including here. Is God trying to get through to me/us? The statement says,
"It is not the church of God that has a mission, but rather, the God of mission that has a Church!"
Just a few minutes before supper, so I may have to finish this with a "Part 2" later....
The churches of Haiti continued the second of 3 days of prayer and fasting for the nation today. The emphasis today, believe it or not, was on 'praise.' Praising God...after the earthquake. I was privileged to preach again this morning, on the second portion of Psalm 23. But what I want to let you know about is the music....vibrant, compelling music. There was one man who sang a solo who seemed to have some musical training and perhaps some perfomance training. His voice was beautiful, and he sang from the heart. After the service Jean Michel said that he thought this man was someone who had been displaced from Port au Prince. If so, he had searched out a Methodist Church in Cayes, and offered to help if he could.
As has been my custom daily, we went to the hospital again to visit, this time in the men's surgery ward, and like yesterday in the women's surgery ward, most of the patients were earthquake victims. Yes, there were people who had lost an arm, or a leg. To review my practice, I have an interpreter ask the patient or a family member if present if it's okay for me to speak with the patient. Thus far, no one has said no, including today. But today was a little different in other ways.
We talked to a man who had been severely injured by the earthquake. After listening to his circumstances, the interpreter asked him if he was a Christian. He said, no. He said maybe after God had healed him then he would become a Christian. I said with as much love as possible, "I don't know for sure, but perhaps it was God who sent those two boys who pulled you out." He thought about it momentarily, and then -- yes, I wasn't ready for it -- he said he wanted to become a Christian. He was ready now.
And so we prayed. I thanked God that this man waanted to to claim Jesus as His Savior and Lord. I thanked God now that he belonged to Christ, and Christ belonged to him. And we prayed some more. We talked about the need as a disciple of Jesus to be baptized, and when he could to get connected to a church. We took his name, and I've asked the Methodist pastor in Cayes to follow up.
And....
then 2 more men we visited also asked to become Christians! We got their names for follow up as well.
I spent the morning writing two sermons, and getting a handle on the themes of the other 4 that I will be presenting, God willing, through next Tuesday. But plans change frequently and quickly in Haiti, and the logistics have to adjust, so we'll see. Sunday morning the plan is to go out into the countryside to my friend's home church in a small villiage.
I went to visit at the hospital again today, going this time to the surgery ward. Here at least 80% of the patients were victims of the earquake. A number of people had left Cayes to live in Port au Prince, and with nothing remaining for them there, they returned to Cayes for treatment for a variety of injuries. Yes, some of them had one leg amputated -- all that could be done. Others had broken legs and arms and what I would call internal injuries, but they didn't have terminology to use for their problems. One patient was a university student, many mothers of children, a few of whom lost children in the earthquake but praise God most of these patients had children who survived and now have family members caring for them while their mothers recouperate. Some o the people were married, some were single.
Once again, all were more than willing to have this unknown American pastor stop by to visit. Spiritual care is important to many people, along with their physical care. Several people said something about how without God they could not go on. When I asked each person what they wanted me to pray for, every one said 'healing.'
So often when a crisis of this magnitude takes place, the enormity of it makes it virtually impossible to think of the suffering and need in personal terms. The crisis in Haiti has faces I have seen, whom I will remember (even if I could not catch or pronounce their names). I know you are aware of this, but it's still true -- these are real, individual, people...by the millions. They are not just some generic term like "the poor."
I had to stop by to see little Jean in the pediatrics ward. A nurse was holding him when we arrived. Eventually she had to go to other children, but Jean was not happy about that! So, whether I should have or not I don't know, but I picked him up. He curled up against my chest, after a few attempts to grab my goatee and glasses. I held him, quietly (he was not asleep, just content to be held), for as long as I could before we had to leave as well.
As we got into the vehicle to go, two men approached us one leading the other. The younger man was the brother and older man the father of the university student we'd visited and prayed with. The father just wanted to meet this American preacher who had visited his daughter. He, too, was/is a pastor....and now blind. I extended my hand knowing the situation, and the son lifted his father's hand so we could shake hands. "God bless you," he said. I had visited a PK without knowing it.
God willing, I'll go back to another section of the surgery ward tomorrow, following the Saturday morning worship service as part of the national call to prayer and fasting. Not sure what the afternoon and evening will hold yet.
We went to the Methodist Church for the late afternoon portion of the services. I say portion, because they had been meeting virtually continuously since 6 a.m. this morning! The pastor took seriously the national call to prayer and fasting for repentance, praise, and grace." The music was uplifting with enthusiastic singing of the songs. Why are so many of our congregations of mostly European descent so lethargic when it comes to singing? (John Wesley would not approve.) I spoke on themes the Pastor had suggested for the special service -- that the earthquake was NOT specific punishment from God, and that it was not automatically the singular indication that the end of this age is upon us NOW. I spoke of the God who says over and over in the Scriptures, "Do not be afraid, I am/I will be with you."
How can you pray?
1. Pray for my wife and family. Thanks for your ongoing prayers for them.
2. Pray for Pastor Bill Deskin at Immanuel as he works tirelessly to serve the needs of people, in what is going to be an unbelievablly busy weekend starting tonight and going all the way through Sunday evening.
3. Pray for healing -- does God truly and directly work to heal people? To a person, the patients were not embarrassed to ask for it, and leave it to God. For some of them, they know God is the only source of healing for them.
4. Pray that God would take away the very real and understandable fear many people are experiencing because of the earthquake, far more than you or I could possibly understand. May God replace fear with God's real presence and love.
5. Pray for the children.
6. Pray for me as the services continue. (Some of the people told the pastor afterwards I didn't preach long enough!)
7. And pray that those of us who are in this together -- and if you are reading this you are in this together with others and me -- pray that we will continue to discover and create ways to respond to real, sometimes life and death situations, some of which can be helped through small, immediate response channels, in addition to the important broader response channels. Can we save everyone's everyone's life ourselves? No. Not any more than I can hold one child at a time here. Does it make a difference in the grand schemes to respond to one person's needs? I have to believe that even for a few moments, even for one child, even for one adult....yes, it makes a difference and it matters to God.
So many experiences and learnings today, it is hard to imagine that this was the first full day of service. It would be impossible to summarize all of the experiences, so I will do my best to limit myself to just a few, with broad strokes.
For the time being, the electricity and internet in Cayes has been consistently on. I was expecting both to be intermitent, but that's not the case. The Guest House has a back up generator as well, in case of short power outages. So the facilities and the food here has been much more than adequate, with a few understandable adjustments (such as don't use the bathroom tap to brush your teeth or take medicines in the morning).
It took some time to do so, but it was well worth going to see the hospital administrator before starting to make visits at the hospital today. I'm here as a guest, and as a guest of the local Methodist pastor who has been exceedingly gracious to me. I never want to be in mission with the attitude that I'm coming 'in charge' without sensitivity to local values and practices. I come to be a servant, in whatever ways the Methodist pastor and others want me to do so.
With a translator at my side I was able to visit with more than 30 patients today, a few children at the pediatrics building and the rest in an adult ward. I would estimate that perhaps 15-20% of the patients were persons who came to Cayes after being injured in the earthquake in Port au Prince. Their accounts of their family loss in some cases, and personal injuries were heart-wrenching, but I felt so privileged they were open to receiving and talking with me as a pastor from the U.S.
Not one adult patient turned me away today, and some patients were exceedingly grateful for a pastor to take time to talk and pray with them. A number of people strongly believed and affirmed that their healing if it is to happen depends on God. Maybe as we go on some short term volunteer in mission trips there IS a place for the ministering in ways in addition to construction.
The guest house hostess took us into the pediatrics ward, where someone had let her know about a very young child, maybe 3 - 6 months old now, who had simply been left outside the hospital, apparently with his mother unable to care for him. Virginia called him Jean Davidson. I don't know who gave him that name. I don't know if he recognized Virginia, but there were certainly times when he smiled when they looked into each others eyes as she held him. When she laid him back down, I put my finger out to him and his far too tiny hand reached out and held my finger. There was a moment when I felt the hand of God. The boy in the crib next to Jean apparently had HIV/AIDS in what could be later stages of the disease. A six month old in another crib was barely larger than a one or two month old, clearly with malnutrition.
In Hait, unless family members or occasionally others bring food, patients do not eat often, if at all.
Suddenly discovering I have six sermons to write and then present in five days has changed my expectation of how I will spend some of my time over the next few days. I have scripture selected for the sermons, and some general themes. One thing my hosts say is important to emphasize is that the earthquake is NOT punishment from God, as some people are wondering here, and it is NOT a sign of the imminent end of the world. Jesus said such things would happen, but it is NOT the end (Matthew 24:4-8). And Jesus said even HE didn't know when the fullness of the realm of God would come, only God the Creator/Father knows. I can preach that, along with hope.
Jean Michel wanted me to see the 'tent city' that has been put up on the Cayes soccer field for displaced persons from Port au Prince, and some even from Cayes. We had a wonderful conversation with a U.S. woman who married a Hatian man and is now living in Cayes, running an orphanage. Their home, right above the soccer field, was structurally weakened, so they now find themselves a resident of the tent city. Every such encounter is an opportunity to exchange ideas about resources and contacts.
Others at the guest house were praising God that they had found somewhere to take in over 100 children who were orphans who had come from Port au Prince. Unlike last night when they slept outside under makeshift tarps, tonight they will have a place to sleep, even if it is on the floor. Unlike last night when they had no food to eat, tonight they will have something for supper. Lives were changed thanks to these volunteers unswerving commitment to find a place for these children.
And yes, there were a few moments in my room by myself back at the guest house, I cried. But however great are the needs of people, we serve a greater God!
How can you pray today, if you choose to do so?
-- For Rita and my family
-- Thanksgiving to God for the Immanuel staff and so many others meeting the needs of people back home, and strength for their tasks. (Say thank you to them, as well)
-- For earthquake survivors in all kinds of circumstances, including at the hospital in Cayes 120 miles from Port au Prince.
-- For the children, so many, many....many orphaned. In Haiti, orphaned can mean literally without parents, or like Jean Davidson with a parent who can't take care of him or her.
-- Thanksgiving to God for the children placed in an orphanage today, and those who took them in.
-- For a heart filled with compassion in me, that I am able to stand alongside caring for hurting people. The Lord's heart is big enough to do it, my own -- on my own -- is not.
-- For God's guidance and wisdom in sermon preparation, in worship in the next few days, in lives being transformed by the Spirit of God from hopelessness to hope in Christ, and a hope that they will take and put into action.
-- Thanksgiving for so many generous and giving Haitians who have welcomed me and others.
God bless you all as you seek to do 'all the good you can,' in all the ways God is calling you to do so at this time.
Copyright 2010, Immanuel United Methodist Church in Des Moines, Iowa, 2900 49th Street, Des Moines IA 50310, 515-277-1100
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