22 Apr...5:49p

Greetings...

Today has been fabulous!!  Just fabulous!!

The morning began with breakfast at 7a, followed by Melinda's devotion on the Tower of Babel and how God frustrated man's attempts to unify and do things absent of God, like building a ridiculous tower of brick toward heaven.  One has to wonder what those folks were thinking.  Most likely, they were just interested in making a name for themselves.  The crux of her devotion, though, centered on what Jesus did for us on the cross and how, when He ascended and subsequently sent the Holy Spirit, men spoke in tongues again, but this time it was unified as the tongues all spoke of the wonders and glories of God.  It is interesting to note that God has provided the way for men to reach heaven, and that's through Jesus Christ, THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life, the Chief Cornerstone of our faith and life in Him.

We attended church at Eglise De Frere (Church of Brothers), which is the church we attended last April (2011).  For those of you who went to Haiti with us last year, we met in the building this morning.  The roof hasn't been completed yet, so we were still under a tent, but it was really cool to be inside the walls of the building, the foundation for which we helped to build (by moving stones from place to place for the skilled masons) when we were here last year.  Each member of the team introduced himself or herself, and then we all sang "Jesus Loves Me" in English and then in Haitian Creole'.  After Melinda did a "Spoken Word", with our friend Jedlain translating for the congregation, we sung both versions of "Jesus Loves Me" again.  I must write that Melinda hit it out of the park with her "Spoken Word".  And it was really cool that Pastor Jean Milson hit on some of the themes Melinda covered in her "Spoken Word" and in the devotion this morning.  It's a really cool thing when it becomes patently obvious Who the Conductor of all of this really is.  I love it when a plan comes together.  Actually, I love it when HIS plans come together.  As a side, several of us were not able to hear Ronald's translation of Pastor Jean's sermon, but I must write that he was quite impassioned and that he carried himself very similarly to the way Pastor Benji Kelly does on the platfomr at newhope.  We've actually nicknamed Pastor Jean Haiti's Answer to PBK.

Once church got out at around 12:40p, we came back here to the guest house to eat lunch.  After changing our clothes, we loaded back up and headed back into town to do some home visits.  I'm going to write a little about these experiences, but you might want to check out Melinda's blog at http://redbone.blog.com too, because, I can almost guarantee you, she'll tell it better.  :o)

Madam Isaiah (Pronounced aa-ZEYE-ee)...

Madam Isaiah has been suffering terribly for close to two years with a gall stone.  As it was described to us, it's been pretty bad.  Up to this point, the doctors have been afraid to do surgery.  Why this is so was unclear to us and, I think, to Ronald as well, who did the interpreting.  Needless to write, Madam Isaiah is in desperate need of prayer.  And so that's what we did as Melinda led us in doing so.  BTW...as you're reading through these, please take a few moments to pray for each individual.  Medical services in Haiti are limited.  As such, those with medical needs are in significant need of God's healing intervention.

Madam Janis...

Madam Janis fractured her hip in a motorcycle accident this past February.  She had a metal plate put into her hip, but she is still heavily limited in her mobility.  The surgeon has estimated that it will take her at least six weeks to recover.  BTW...in Haiti there really is no such thing as physical therapy.  As such, when people undergo an operation, their time of recovery includes very little incorporation of supervised exercises into the recovery process.  Connie led us in laying hands on and praying for Madam Janis.

Madam Melise...

Madam Melise has been sick for a very long time.  As it was described to us, she feels significant pain and slight dizziness pretty much whenever she's not sitting.  She and her husband have six children, and, it appears, that a couple of them live close enough to help with taking care of Madam Melise.  Tracy led us in laying hands on and praying for Madam Melise.

Melise (Madam Melise's Husband)...

Melise has been experiencing significant pain in his stomach for some time.  In fact, he sits with a stick jammed into his stomach to help him feel better.  Yours truly led the team in laying hands on and praying for Melise.

Antoine (and His Son Raphael)...

Antoine used to be a witch doctor/voodoo priest.  It was apparent that he had come to Christ at some point in the last two, maybe, three years.  Antoine has been suffering something "very strange" (his characterization as interpreted by Ronald).  Antoine was very clear that he wanted prayer for what he's been suffering and nothing else.  He did indicate that he would take medicine, but that He would definitely not pursue a voodoo solution to what's been ailing him.  Antoine also asked that we pray for his son's (Raphael's) salvation.  Bill led the team in laying hands on and praying for Antoine and Raphael.

Midleh...

Midleh injured his knee and leg in a serious motorcycle accident on Maundy Thursday.  Being quite shy, Midleh did not speak much, but he did indicate that he wanted prayer.  Keith led the team in laying hands on and praying for Midleh.

After these home visits and times of prayers, we all loaded back in the bus and headed back to the guest house.  A few minutes ago, we finished dinner and began our evening debrief.  For now, I'd like to sign off...

Either tonight or tomorrow morning, I'll upload some photos to this site.

May God bless all of you in ways that exceed even your wildest of imaginations,

Dave
On behalf of Team Haiti 2012/April

PS...I forgot to write above that I asked Ronald about Lucienne Victor, Sorina Victor, and widow Madam Delius, the three women we visited and prayed with this past January.  Ronald said that all three seem to be doing much better.  I also asked Ronald if we might be able to see Jordanys, an active witch doctor that we also met in January.  Hopefully, we'll get to see him.