A large part of my job here in Haiti is encouraging people to tell and sitting and listening to their stories. And I have to share, it is one of my favorite parts!
We sit around at the end of week during mealtimes and during the week “debrief” to allow the teams to share with us the good, the bad, and the ‘snapshots’ of the week that they are taking home. The stories are all so special: funny, heart-breaking, hopeful, encouraging, challenging, poignant, awe-filled, and unique. Many times, I have to fight tears (or sometimes let them flow!) as I hear some of the relationships and experiences the teams have encountered. And 100% of the time, thier stories bring me to my knees in prayer for the people of Haiti and for the teams to continue to tell their stories and bring more people to live new stories.
Many of those stories that are being shared have actually brought dead faith to life...each person’s own personal little Easter.
Last week, the story that keeps bubbling in my heart is a story I heard from a construction team called to serve in Source a Philippe, a small village on the island of La Gonave.
La Gonave is a large island separated from the main island and only connected by hours on a boat. Everything on the island is brought in: food, drinks, materials, vehicles, etc. Pastor Jacki, the Circuit Superintendent called to serve in La Gonave, is actually from the island. He will quickly tell you that he believes that he is who he is today because of the impact of mission teams who have come to serve the people of Haiti and of La Gonave. So many people who have come to live, and then share, the stories of great need and great hope.
The village of Source a Philippe is poverty-laden, inhabited by only several hundred people. Most of the homes are built with mud and sticks, roofs of coconut tree branches or, sometimes, old, rusty, tin. The people of Source a Philippe live in some of the worst conditions I have seen in Haiti, little access to water, food, clothing, and shelter. The most basic needs barely met. Pastor Jacki refers to the island and the villages on it as “the forgotten places.”
Our mission team from Virginia chose La Gonave because the team leader, Jack Martin and his wife Marianne, have served in Haiti for over 30 years and knew the needs of the island. They worked on the roof of the medical clinic, "Klinic Komunite", which is being brought back to life since it was damaged by the earthquake. A blessing in the midst of disaster.
Over the past three months, since my arrival in Haiti, that resurrected clinic- with the aid of mission teams, has seen over 1200 patients, many walking more than 3 hours to be seen by a doctor or nurse.
Source a Philippe’s own little Easter.
The Virginia team arrived on a Tuesday and attended worship the following Sunday morning. The local preacher asked the team to sit in the front of the church behind the pulpit, where the choir would normally sit. Shortly after worship began, Jack noticed a tall, elderly, regal-looking woman who entered the back of the church and quietly looked for a seat. Tucked under her arm was a rooster. The team looked at each other in confusion, not knowing why someone would bring a chicken with them to church.
A friend of the woman moved over and made space for her to sit. The regal-looking woman stopped to tie the rooster to the pew and quickly sat down. Marianne remarked during the telling of the story, “that was the most well-behaved rooster I had ever seen! He was quiet the entire service.”
It came to the time that the ushers began to walk around with the offering baskets, passing them around and allowing the congregation to worship by giving to God. The tall, elderly, regal-looking woman quietly leaned over, untied the rooster, and began walking up towards the altar. She bent down, tied the chicken to the altar and stood up. She grabbed the local preachers arm, asking him to bend down so she could tell him something.
“This is all that I have.”
Jack Martin wept while sharing this story. I weep now writing it.
Thank you, God for the story very similar to this one that we celebrate today. You loved us so much that you gave your Son as an offering for our sins. And then gave us the gift of eternal life through Jesus' resurrection....the world's own little Easter. Which we get to be reminded on not only yearly, or every Sunday, but every day. We just have to open our eyes and ears to the stories in our own lives and in the lives of others.
Thanks be to God.
