CHURCH: Today we went to church. It was not that simple though. While the church is only 4 or 5 miles away, it took about an hour to get there. The roads and traffic are just terrible. A pipe somewhere broke in the neighborhood so you drive through water without seeing the potholes or huge ditch on the side. There was a dump truck that got too close to the ditch and was turned on its side, leaning against the wall.
There are walls everywhere. This is their security. Every nice house has their own and every neighborhood too, so even some tent "cities" we saw had walls around them where I guess a neighborhood stood before. We stopped to pick up some people at the Harbor House, one of the many ministries of Heartline. We drove in a giant truck with a gate all around us, like a cage. There was seating on the top too. We pulled into the gated neighborhood that church was in. I was told an international school was one of the buildings. The buildings definitely didn't look like housing but I would have never known what they were supposed to be because everything is just so run down.
Church was great though. Sarah actually got to meet up with a friend who had started teaching in Haiti three weeks ago. Everyone said you realize how small the world is when you start traveling, but come on! John McHoul, founder and director of Heartline, spoke on following Jesus and not looking behind you. He first spoke on Luke 9:57-62. That was the last thing I'd studied on my own. Kind of like when a professor says something twice you star it in your notes, he (and He) had my attention. Then he talked about Elisha following Elijah in 2 Kings chapter 2. He burned his oxen and his plow. With that gone it was no big deal to leave his field and follow Elijah. We have to burn whatever it is in the past that we're holding on to and is hindering our walk with God. Once we do that and completely rely on the Lord it's nothing to go wherever He calls us to go or to do whatever He calls us to do. He said people will tell him that they feel like God is calling them to Haiti, but (fill in the blank). How often we say BUT to God. It's so stupid. He's God. He said one person's blank was that they don't like heat, haha. One of the urgent prayer needs was for the persecuted church. We really need to pray about this more in the states, y'all. I got a map from a great organization called Voice of the Martyrs. (Their website is www.persecution.com. You can sign up for a free monthly newsletter.) The map tells you in what countries it can be dangerous or completely life threatening to be a christian. This is most of the world. I love that this little church in Haiti kept thanking God that they were able to freely worship Him and remembered their brothers and sisters in Christ who could not. Another awesome thing was worshipping with so many of other nationalities. Most of the church was Haitian I think, but we met some missionaries from Australia and evidently there could have been some from Africa. What a great glimpse of what heaven will be like! I can't wait! We sang one of my favorites too. It was funny looking at all the Haitians dressed up for church. It was 90 something degrees out and they had long pants and shirts with sweater vests and ties on. No one was perspiring whatsoever, while I'm in my thin cotton dress going to town with sweat.
TOUR: After church John McHoul gave Sarah, Rachel, Jordana and I a tour of the city. Sarah was shocked there really wasn't any prominent begging. She was in Addis Ababa for a month and said the starving, begging children were everywhere. My biggest fear coming here was seeing that, but I haven't seen it. Maybe it will be different out in Gressier. We saw the crumbled palace, the market, tent cities, the U.S.S Comfort off the coast. You'll see when we load pictures the absolute congestion and trash. John said this was always the case. Really the only thing different was the crumbled buildings and people residing in places that didn't used to be the "neighborhoods" they are now. He said most people have heard the gospel, but most people are hardened or apathetic to it. You know someone is really a christian if they say they are "converted". Voodoo is very prominent. Nothing is black and white. Someone could claim Jesus, believe they got a disease through voodoo, but still believe in the science of medicine to heal it. (Honestly though I don't think that's too different from us. I believe in demons. I believe Jesus can use medicine to heal me.) Everything is layered and complicated. When asked what Haiti's biggest need was, he said people need to WANT to care for others, though it may not benefit them (AKA they need Jeeeeeesus). A gang could be raping your "next door" neighbor, as in, the person a sheet seperates you from, and no one will do anything. They stay out of the way so it won't happen to them. This was the saddest thing I have heard all day and my biggest shocker. Think how many people would hear someone screaming in a tent city. NO ONE does anything. He said no one trusts anyone either. He knows a girl who recently got a promotion at work. He asked if everyone was happy for her. She said, "no". He said, "no one threw you a party?" She said if they did she wouldn't go. She'd be scared they would poison her out of jealousy. This is the culture. It's very sad. Rachel said in Uganda it's very different. Though people are poor they will essentially adopt a neighbor's kid they barely knew. They look out for one another. Two very different countries we are working in. It will be interesting come November when I go to Uganda and can contrast. Tomorrow I will talk to you about the little boy we watched today.
P.S. I'm trying to get the guys to find me a cockfight to go to.
Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
Luke 9:62
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