Day 12 - time to see more in Haiti (summary)
Recap and stories:
Day 9 evening:
I ended with the last blog on going back to Thomas's church for another revival service. During the worship I felt very uneasy. The worship was very loud and very long with a rhythm that sounded very much like the voodoo music. It almost felt like hypnosis while I stood there. I found out I was going to be preaching there again and I ended up speaking on identity as a child of God but the message seemed to be empty with many distractions within the congregation. I as well as Dom left the church feeling confused and questioning the evening. we spent the night reflecting and asking God for clearity on the evening. It is interesting to see how voodoo is the main influence on the culture and how that has come into the way they were worshiping that night. The music in voodoo is very repetitive and very hard to focus. The music played a part in how the environment did not create peace and comfort. I believe also that the pastor is forcing my involvement with his church and because of that it is not being led by the Holy Spirit. His church is in need and he said that the lord came to him in a dream telling him a missionary was coming. Perhaps he is reading into the vision and attempting to make it the way he sees it and not what God has for it. This has led me to really seek the lord for more direction with the rest of my time here so it can continue to be very fruitful.
Day 10:
We visited our guest house's orphanage in the morning. It was a great orphanage and a family from the United states is helping them with a garden. The family is currently staying at the Shama guest house but they are looking for a house to buy or rent because they are now moving here. It was awesome to see there project at the orphanage and how many other orphanages and churches are asking for the same project to be done at there place. The family is showing them how to plant and grow vegetable because no one here knows how to. This will provide cheap and good food for the children. As an example of how religious it is here, the father of the family helping the orphanage, was accused of being evil because he has tattoos. Even though this was wrong, he told me that he would overcome there accusations with his actions of love. Eventually they realized he is not evil but in fact a man that shows the love of Jesus.
After we left the orphanage we went to the public hospital. It was amazing to see how they just let us in during visiting hours to visit whoever we wanted to. It was overcrowded with little privacy for each patient. We didn't focus on the issues but on the people and talked with many of them. We got to pray for many of them and as we were leaving a lady came up to us asking if we could pray for her foot. She had just brought her son in to the hospital but she saw people feeling better after we were praying for them so she came up to get healing for her foot. She was unable to move her foot and had constant pain. We prayed and after asked how she was feeling. She said no more pain and was able to move her foot. She also said that while we were praying another hand other then ours touched her foot, Jesus! That was amazing and the doctors by then we're getting sick of us and told us we need to go.
Later in the evening we went with pastor day to another church across the road from his mamas house. We visited mamas house and enjoy our time there. It was amazing to see how many young girls she has lvimg there with her and she is caring for. Deanna was the entertainment of the evening for the 5 teenage girls. After we went to the church service and again I ended up with sharing the main message of the service. It was a great time and the peace of the lord filled there building.
Day 11:
We spent the morning with the owner of the shama guest house before we left. He, Pierre, is also a pastor and the director of the orphanage. He shared many stories with us and had many stories that sounds much like Paul's. Through his stories we found out how common human sacrifice is here for the voodoo witch doctors. He shared a story about a man who had walked into his church and after the service gave him a vile of poison that he easing going to drink that night to kill himself. He told Pierre that his wife just left him and he hasn't had a job for years and had no more hope to keep living. He went to his mother for advice but she was a voodoo follower and said to sacrifice one of his sons to get rich and get his wife back. He said he would rather kill himself. So it was then that as he was walking by Pierres church he saw something very unusual. On the street outside the church there was a car full of cops all lifting there hands in praise as they could here the worship music. He thiught this was worth at least checking out and it was then that he heard the truth of gods love for him and he had a hope again. Weeks later his wife came back to him and months later he got a job for the first time in 2 years. This is why Jesus name is lifted above all names.
Pierre also had a story about ending up in jail for 7 days. He was stopped by some cops because they saw him driving white people. In Haiti they assume the Haitian has money if they hang out with white people. So they stopped him and asked for $800. He obviously didn't have this and told him even if he did he would spend it on the children who have no job or families. They didn't like this and accused him for having firearms. They brought him to jail and he said the cell was so full people there was only enough room to stand. He said he was being tested by the devil but knew God makes all things good for those who love him. By the time he was let out 29 cell mates had come to Christ and since then has seen many of them still following Jesus.
Later that day we dropped denae off at the airport and Moved into pastor Days home.
Day 9 evening:
I ended with the last blog on going back to Thomas's church for another revival service. During the worship I felt very uneasy. The worship was very loud and very long with a rhythm that sounded very much like the voodoo music. It almost felt like hypnosis while I stood there. I found out I was going to be preaching there again and I ended up speaking on identity as a child of God but the message seemed to be empty with many distractions within the congregation. I as well as Dom left the church feeling confused and questioning the evening. we spent the night reflecting and asking God for clearity on the evening. It is interesting to see how voodoo is the main influence on the culture and how that has come into the way they were worshiping that night. The music in voodoo is very repetitive and very hard to focus. The music played a part in how the environment did not create peace and comfort. I believe also that the pastor is forcing my involvement with his church and because of that it is not being led by the Holy Spirit. His church is in need and he said that the lord came to him in a dream telling him a missionary was coming. Perhaps he is reading into the vision and attempting to make it the way he sees it and not what God has for it. This has led me to really seek the lord for more direction with the rest of my time here so it can continue to be very fruitful.
Day 10:
We visited our guest house's orphanage in the morning. It was a great orphanage and a family from the United states is helping them with a garden. The family is currently staying at the Shama guest house but they are looking for a house to buy or rent because they are now moving here. It was awesome to see there project at the orphanage and how many other orphanages and churches are asking for the same project to be done at there place. The family is showing them how to plant and grow vegetable because no one here knows how to. This will provide cheap and good food for the children. As an example of how religious it is here, the father of the family helping the orphanage, was accused of being evil because he has tattoos. Even though this was wrong, he told me that he would overcome there accusations with his actions of love. Eventually they realized he is not evil but in fact a man that shows the love of Jesus.
After we left the orphanage we went to the public hospital. It was amazing to see how they just let us in during visiting hours to visit whoever we wanted to. It was overcrowded with little privacy for each patient. We didn't focus on the issues but on the people and talked with many of them. We got to pray for many of them and as we were leaving a lady came up to us asking if we could pray for her foot. She had just brought her son in to the hospital but she saw people feeling better after we were praying for them so she came up to get healing for her foot. She was unable to move her foot and had constant pain. We prayed and after asked how she was feeling. She said no more pain and was able to move her foot. She also said that while we were praying another hand other then ours touched her foot, Jesus! That was amazing and the doctors by then we're getting sick of us and told us we need to go.
Later in the evening we went with pastor day to another church across the road from his mamas house. We visited mamas house and enjoy our time there. It was amazing to see how many young girls she has lvimg there with her and she is caring for. Deanna was the entertainment of the evening for the 5 teenage girls. After we went to the church service and again I ended up with sharing the main message of the service. It was a great time and the peace of the lord filled there building.
Day 11:
We spent the morning with the owner of the shama guest house before we left. He, Pierre, is also a pastor and the director of the orphanage. He shared many stories with us and had many stories that sounds much like Paul's. Through his stories we found out how common human sacrifice is here for the voodoo witch doctors. He shared a story about a man who had walked into his church and after the service gave him a vile of poison that he easing going to drink that night to kill himself. He told Pierre that his wife just left him and he hasn't had a job for years and had no more hope to keep living. He went to his mother for advice but she was a voodoo follower and said to sacrifice one of his sons to get rich and get his wife back. He said he would rather kill himself. So it was then that as he was walking by Pierres church he saw something very unusual. On the street outside the church there was a car full of cops all lifting there hands in praise as they could here the worship music. He thiught this was worth at least checking out and it was then that he heard the truth of gods love for him and he had a hope again. Weeks later his wife came back to him and months later he got a job for the first time in 2 years. This is why Jesus name is lifted above all names.
Pierre also had a story about ending up in jail for 7 days. He was stopped by some cops because they saw him driving white people. In Haiti they assume the Haitian has money if they hang out with white people. So they stopped him and asked for $800. He obviously didn't have this and told him even if he did he would spend it on the children who have no job or families. They didn't like this and accused him for having firearms. They brought him to jail and he said the cell was so full people there was only enough room to stand. He said he was being tested by the devil but knew God makes all things good for those who love him. By the time he was let out 29 cell mates had come to Christ and since then has seen many of them still following Jesus.
Later that day we dropped denae off at the airport and Moved into pastor Days home.
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