I’m sitting in Santo Domingo at the
first day of de-brief. Haiti is behind me. Month 2 is behind me. I
said it last month, I’ll say it this month, and I’ll probably say it
next month. It’s going to be November before I know it. As we were
leaving Haiti I couldn’t help but feel like we had just gotten there.
I think about what God showed me last month and what He’s been doing
and I can’t help but smile.
It feels like every month there is a
theme. Last month God was showing me His love and making that so
real to me. This month it was definitely his sovereignty. We were
in a place that is feared by most Americans. This place is
devastated, impoverished and it’s people are enslaved to voodoo, sex
and money. This place has truly seen the judgment of God, but in
that is a promise. God gave me a promise for Haiti at the beginning
of the month. That, like Egypt,God had to pour out His wrath to get
their attention but Haiti is God’s beloved and is redeeming her (read
Isaiah 19:19-22 and everywhere it says Egypt replace it with Haiti).
This promise has been confirmed and is happening now! Ministries are
flourishing, pagan carnivals are beginning to become Christian
carnivals and all the while every new generation that rises up is
stronger in the Lord then the previous. It’s very interesting to me
that we saw about 4 vivid rainbows during our in a place that is
plagued with storms and flooding. God is at work. And everywhere
you look you see evidence of God’s sovereignty and power. He’s
orchestrating peoples lives for His purpose and glory. He’s loving
on His people and protecting them. It’s been a good month.
Our last week was spent doing the same
thing’s we’d been called to do from the beginning. Teaching the kids
English in the morning, sanding walls in the afternoon and of course
loving on the kids in between. But the last week added some urgency.
We tried to be super receptive to hear God’s voice so we could
fulfill every opportunity He had for us so we could leave Haiti with
no regrets.
One Wednesday I was able to take
Zachary to see a man that works in the pharmacy named John. He
speaks really good English and agreed to translate some things to
Zachary that the Lord really laid on my heart. Before we started I
was talking to John and mentioned that I would love to know Zachary’s
story and how he got to Cambry. Well before I knew it we were in the
office pulling his file. Turns out he’s 8 years old, and he’s from
Cayes. His parents are still alive but they’re very poor. They gave
him to the orphanage a little over a year ago because they couldn’t
support him. After hearing that I began to question my impact on
him. This boy was given up by his parents, and he was old enough to
remember it. And here I come to love on him and pour into him, but
to ultimately leave him in the same fashion as his parents. I
couldn’t help but question if it was worth it. If loving this boy
was worth pouring salt into an old wound. After throwing myself a
little pity party God just spoke to me and reassured me that love is
always stronger then pain. And any investment in this boy for loves
sake would only be a blessing. I needed to have faith that God loves
this boy more then I ever could and that he would continue meeting
Zachary’s needs after I was gone.
Our last day at Cambry was such a
blessing. Zachary was looking and feeling better then I’d ever seen
him. I had told him the previous day that today was our last day and
he didn’t take it very well so I wasn’t really looking forward to
this. But that morning we laughed and played together, it was
awesome. But then after lunch he began acting very strange. He
began throwing fits and running away to cry because I wouldn’t give
him food. It was very odd, he’d never acted like this before. In my
anger and frustration Sammie brought up the good point that maybe
he’s pushing me away. It made perfect sense but it was still heart
breaking. I wanted our last day together to be fun, not like this.
But praise God, Zachary turned around and we spent the remaining time
like we spent the last few weeks. I held him until the van pulled up
and when everything was loaded he began to cry. He refused to let go
of my leg until one of the house moms made him. It tore me up
inside.
I miss that little guy, but I know God
has a lot in store for him In conclusion, it was a hard month but I
would definitely come back to Haiti. God is hard at work and I love
seeing God at work.
