Bonswa!!
I hope that all of you are doing
well.
A common greeting in Haitian Creole'
is "S'ak Pase?" ("What's up?" or "How's it
going?"). The typical response is "Nap
Boule" ("No worries" or, more literally, "I'm in the fire,
but not burning.").
This morning began with breakfast
and a team devotion led by Tracy. Her
text was Mark 4:1-20, The Parable of the
Sower. Tracy's word to us seemed really
timely to me. In fact, she prefaced her
time with us by saying that God impressed on her that He wished for her to
share on something different than what she'd prepared. Between you and me, I'm glad she
listened!
The question we need to ask
ourselves, she suggested (as prompted by the parable), is this: Where
am I in my heart attitude?
Am I
in the shallow, rocky, and well-worn places of worry, concerns about money, or
the fickle desire for cultural acceptance?
Or am I in the nutrient rich soils of openness, thirst for God, selfless
service, and humble submission to God and to those around me?
Can
the soils of your life support a crop that's 100 times that which is being sown
into your life?
If
not, are you willing to be changed?...To let God break up and turn over the
soils of your soul?
After devotions, we loaded up and headed
into town where we met up with some of the villagers to work on a road widening
project. On our way into Bohoc, though, we
stopped at Madam Billo's (Be-LOW's) home to pray with her, and just before
beginning work, we stopped at Madam Isaiah's (Aa-ZEYE-ee's) home to lay hands
on her and to pray for her again. As we
were praying, I heard my own spirit praying, "Break up the stone,
Lord. Break up the stone." As I wrote about on Sunday, Madam Isaiah has
been suffering from a gall stone for about two years. Just as Tracy spoke about the soils of our
hearts needing to be broken up, turned over, and fertilized, and just as we
were getting ready to work with the villagers to widen a road (which would
involve some ground-breaking work, too), I felt God urge me to pray, as I
worked today, "Break up the stone, Lord, break up the stone...in Madam
Isaiah's body and in my own heart."
Even as I'm writing this, I can hear those words echoing within my mind.
After praying for Madam Isaiah, the team worked alongside our Haitian
friends to widen about 100-ft of road.
The road widening process can be quite involved. The process begins with the removal and the setting
aside of the cactus fence that lines one or both sides of the road, digging out
a new trench (several feet beyond the original road's edge) so as to provide a
conducive area to replant the previously removed cactus plants, removing any
trees (even large ones) that stand within the travel way of the expanded road
surface, smoothing oput the road, and followed finally with the replanting of the most viable parts of the
previously removed cactus plants.
Road widening is an extremely
beneficial thing to the Haitians. Most
roads begin as two- to three-foot wide foot paths and then widen as farmers
begin to use the paths to bring in supplies or to bring their livestock to and
from the weekly market or to and from the most advantageous watering locations. The road we worked on
today was widened in order to provide an additional access to the university
that is currently under construction on the campus of UCI (United Christian
International).
UCI
and THE University (!!)
When we visited UCI a year ago, we
heard about the planned university on the UCI campus. For those of you who might not know what UCI
is, UCI is a ministry that was begun many years ago by Pastor JeanJean (a
Haitian) and his wife, Christy (a U.S. citizen). Occupying what was once a popular, forested gathering
place for voodoo ceremonies and rituals, the UCI campus is comprised of a
church, a private elementary school, a bread processing factory, as well as a
large garden and several other amenities.
[BTW...as I write this, the lady's in the kitchen are singing as they
prepare dinner. :o)]
When we were here in Bohoc this past
January, we visited UCI again, and heard from the Bohoc Leadership Council
(BLC) how excited they were about the coming university.
Well...(!!)...today we visited UCI
again, and--guess what??--THE UNIVERSITY IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION!! While we were on the campus, we toured the
three nearly completed educational buildings, saw the outside of the nearly
completed women's dormitory, and, in the distance, could see the outside of the
nearly completed men's dormitory.
According to Jedlain, UCI University
should open next year and will offer four-year degrees in three fields of
study: Education, Agriculture, and
Theology/Pastoral Ministry. THIS will be
huge for the people of Haiti and especially for the village of Bohoc.
All of this is falling in line beautifully
with the God-inspired vision the village has to create a sustainable community
dedicated to the Lordship of Jesus Christ...and a place where Haitians can be
born and live out the rest of their lives with those that love them and with those
they've known their entire lives. When
the earthquake of January 2010 occurred, Bohoc felt the quake in more ways than
one. While no buildings in Bohoc were
damaged, and while no one living in Bohoc was killed, many of the families
living in Bohoc suffered the loss of loved ones in the earthquake. As it was communicated to me, quite a number of the children that grew up in Bohoc, a few years ago, started migrating to Port au
Prince (PaP) in the hopes of finding work and a faster pace of life. Unfortunately, many of them didn't find what they'd hoped to find and, unfortunagtely, ended up in the slums of
PaP only to be killed during the earthquake.
The village of Bohoc suffered
greatly over these losses. It's hard not
to notice that there's a significant segment of the Bohoc
population that seems to be missing. While there are lots
and lots of children (elementary- through high school-age) and many adults over
30, there are not the many residents that comprise the
season of early adulthood (say, from 18-30 years of age). I think it is safe to write that this demographic is largely missing from the
community. While I do not wish to place
words in the mouths of my Haitian brethren, I believe it is the BLC's hope,
through the efforts of the village and through what the university will bring, that
a flourishing, God-fearing, and wholly-represented community will be created
where those born in Bohoc will choose to stay there throughout their lives.
Having visited with these beloved
people three different times over the last year, I feel at liberty to write
that there is still a sadness in the village that only time, God, and working
and worshiping alongside each other will bring about.
As my friend Jedlain has shared with me, "First we work, then we
call others to come join us in sharing in the work, and, as we work, we talk, basically continuing in a never-ending conversation, and, during all this, wait upon God to display the
wonders of His grace by doing for us that which only He can do." Amen, my brother...amen.
Kris
El Espwa
After lunch and following a long
(and much needed) nap for all of us, we spent a couple of hours this afternoon
with some of the children at Kris El Espwa (Christ Our Hope). Our time with the kids was cut short as a
storm quickly came in and we found ourselves needing to depart the village
quickly so that we would not get stuck on any of the hills or in any of the low,
water crossings. To be honest with you,
it was a little funny to watch Jedlain all of the suddenly start shouting at
the team, "Come on!!...Let's go!!...Hurry!!" These are NOT typical Haitian words and
phrases.
I'm going to end my writing for now
as I'd like to go hang out for a few minutes with my teammates before going to
bed.
May God bless all of you richly.
In Him,
Dave
On behalf of Team Haiti 2012/April
1 comment:
Hurry???!! Love it!
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