The only green the town sees is the toxic water that sits in the ditches on the sides of the road. The wind blows hard and white dust blows all around you. Destruction is everwhere, cars are still burried in the mud, roofs are torn off of houses, the first levels of some homes unable to be seen. The devistation of the hurricanes in 2008 brought with them a massive flood to the town of Gonaives. If you were unfortunate enough to have a one level house, your chances of survival were slim to none.
But even if the hurricane had not hit this desolate land, the darkness would still be great. Men, women, and children walk to streets of Gonaives with no purpose. In their eyes you see nothing but emptiness. As you drive through the streets you feel the lack of care for anything these people have. They care so little in fact, that they have filled their rivers and streams with dirt and garbage–which had a major impact of how large the flood was here. Yes, this place is harsh and ravished.
We have met one man though, who stands on the solid rock. His name is Mala and he runs the YWAM base in Gonaives. As he drove us out of the city one day, we slowly began to see life growing. There was some green grass, and trees, and life in some of the eyes we looked in to. When we stopped, it was as though we had gone to a different country. The beauty of the place was unimaginable. We walked through beautiful, lush land of palm and banana trees, greens were growing from ever direction we looked. The sun was shinning down as if it were a new day and the streams we walked around were crystal clear. This was a promise.
A promise that God is still at work and that he has not forgotten about Haiti. And one man, Maula, with a vision for God’s Kingdom. Mala purchased 15 achers of land to train up men and women in the Lord. In this place will be an area for learning trades and building skills, a place to grow in the Lord and learn to evangelize, and a place to sit in silence with the Lord, and recharge yourself for the battle that is at hand here in this place. Here, he wants to rise up soldiers for God’s kingdom.
“Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever…The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. You will enlarge the nation of (Haiti) and it’s people will rejoice. They will rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest and like warriors diving he plunder.” Isaiah 9
From the rooftop of the YWAM base
