I continue to fall more in love with Haiti. The challenges and difficulties increase, but with that, it seems I feel more and more peace. I am so blessed to know our translator Wendell and Pastor Pierre. They are two incredible men who truly listen to God and take Him at His Word. They have already challenged me countless times to be a better version of myself. I take so much joy in just listening to their stories – hearing their struggles, their passions, and their fabulous laughter. They are teaching me that not all things are as they seem, and that often God is in the unseen.
Pierre has spoken into me the power of healing. “But what if I don’t know how to find the faith to believe I have the ability to heal people in Jesus’ name?” His simple response, “Shelli, have you ever read the whole Bible? Read it, and your faith will increase.” I am starting in Genesis and Matthew, and am five chapters in. Already, God is awakening me to His healing power. Today, I got to pray with a girl named Daphne to receive Christ for the first time. It was incredible. Exhilarating… This is the Kingdom at work – and I am thankful to Pierre for opening me up to it.
And Wendell’s life tells a story of faith. He lost his brother to Typhoid, and his sister and baby nephew died in the earthquake. He lives in a tiny little two-room concrete house with five other people. He loves his fiancé from a distance because her mother is a Voodoo priestess who hates him with a burning passion. Yet he sees joy in everything, and I look forward every day to laughing with him and savoring his light spirit.
These wonderful men speak into my beauty as a sister and a friend – they often ask me why I am so timid about it. They believe in the simple power of taking Jesus’ words literally, and praying them out. They walk by faith for their next meal, for His guidance towards a person or conversation, and for the Holy Spirit to heal.
They constantly ask when I’m going to get married, when I’m going to find that special someone – and laugh when they say they hope he’s a Haitian man. They believe that words have power, and aren’t afraid to say the hard things that need to be said to people. They are known and respected in their communities, and also disrespected and persecuted for their faith.
More than the ministry itself, these two men are leaving an incredible indent on my heart. It will be hard to leave Haiti mostly because I’m starting to see it through their eyes. To them, there is trust, beauty, brokenness, and loyalty on these streets and in these homes. There’s respect, honor, and belief. There’s a sacredness in the mundane – the daily-ness of it all, the simplicity of the culture, even in the midst of the complication, chaos, and miscommunication. This is the Haiti I’m seeing: the charcoal-burning, laughter-loving people that have so little to spare, yet so much to offer.
So thank you Wendell and Pierre, for letting me borrow your eyes to see what I never could have seen on my own. You have truly become friends.
