I know many of us have heard the saying “when life gives you lemons make some lemonade.” Well when life gives me lemons I like to make some bomb fruit punch Kool-Aid. You get the idea though. I can attest to the fact that life has really been throwing me lemons lately. Lemons, curve balls, and any other crazy thing you can think of lately. I lost my faith and hope for a second, but I’m regaining it. Its time for me to share yet another story with you.
Meet Judith
A month ago I stepped into Haiti not knowing what to expect from the choice of going on a “pre-mission trip” to the World Race. Little did I know that God was going to share with me a miracle. Our days looked very different while in Haiti. We went on this amazing prayer walk our first day and we met a woman who I will never forget.
As we were walking down a hill in Merger, Emily noticed a woman who was waving us down. We turned around and we started talking with her. We found out the woman had been praying to God earlier that morning for Him to send her and Angel or a sign. We asked her what was going on and she began to tell us her story. Judith (pronounced Ju-deet) was affected more than most when Hurricane Sandy hit Haiti in 2012. After the Hurricane, Judith took her two sons with her and moved from Merger to another part of Haiti. The wreckage and the dead bodies in the area was just to much to bear. Judith’s husband, however, decided not to go with the family and stayed behind. I thought that he stayed behind to maybe fix their home and help clean up the wreckage, but that wasn’t the case. Judith came back months later to find her husband with another woman. Judith’s husband told her that he was a polygamist now and that she could either leave or accept it.
Despite her frustration with the situation Judith stayed with her husband. He moved Judith to a small part of the house where she could still do her business, but it wasn’t big enough for her and her two sons. I don’t quite remember how much time went by, but Judith was done with the nonsense of her husband. She showed us scars and wounds on her legs where her husband had beat her. The beatings and his involvement with voodoo was to much, she just couldn’t have that around her children. Judith was going to court that day to get the police to put the other woman out. Judith had a marriage certificate and was going to prove that she was the only woman that belonged in that house. In Haiti they frown upon polygamy or any version of it, men go to jail for that and the “other women” get kicked out of the home. We prayed over Judith as a group. We open our hearts and we let God move in our prayers. I know God heard the cries of our hearts. There was just a peace when our group left her house.
We were walking back to the house we were staying at and we happened to see Judith waiting for a bus to go to court. You could tell that she was happy having met us and felt that God was truly going to work a miracle that day for her. She waved politely and we walked on. I had high hopes for her situation, but they didn’t come the way I thought they would.
(Me, Shekina, Judith and her sons, Shannon, Kathy, Judith’s niece, Emily, and Jessica…. Outside of Judith’s home)
A Turn For The Worse
After telling our team about our encounter with Judith everyone wanted to meet her. The next day before our afternoon ministry we went to see her, to our dismay she wasn’t there. However, her niece seemed really upset when she told us. We could see that something was terribly wrong. I can’t speak fro my Haiti Team, but i can speak for myself, I was torn up inside after seeing and speaking with the niece. I was praying that our conversation with Judith didn’t cause to much trouble.
Bill our translator ended up getting Judith’s phone number from her niece, and called her. We found out that Judith was at the hospital. The “other woman” had come into Judith’s part of the house and had hit her over the head with something. My heart broke after hearing that. After all that praying and encouraging, Judith gets hurt. Billy told us that Judith needed to find a lawyer or nothing was to move forward with her case. I asked Billy probably a million times how much a lawyer would cost her, but all he would tell me is “just pray.: I was so annoyed with Billy, because I’m all about solving the problems of others. Our team could front the money for a lawyer, but Billy wouldn’t cooperate with us. We stopped and prayed for Judith and continued with our ministry.
Jehovah Reigns
We finally got to see Judith a day or 2 later and she had the greatest news ever. Judith began her story by telling us what had happened when she went to court. The judge felt compassion for her and her situation and gave Judith a public defender. The public defender, however, told Judith that he wouldn’t be able to do much for her. She needed to get an actual lawyer, and he gave her a name of someone who might help. The lawyer said that he would take Judith’s case if she was able to pay him $500. Judith asked all her friend and family for money, but she was only able to come up with $200. The lawyer took the money and her case.
She explained to us that the police had severed her husband a subpoena the day before. He had 48 hours to turn himself in or the police would come and get him. You could tell Judith was not happy about the way things were unfolding, but she knew she had to do this for her kids. She wanted nothing more than to reconcile with her husband, but enough was enough. We asked Judith was there anything else she needed. She told us that she had to pay for some papers that the lawyer needed for the case. they were going to cost her $150. As soon as she said that I looked up and I saw my team start reaching into their pockets, backpacks, and wallets. We gave her well over $200. She was going to get the help she needed one way or another. We ended our conversation with Judith by praying over her. We invited her niece and her sons to come to the soccer field with us. That was the last time we saw her.
Reflections
I think about Judith a lot for two reasons.
1.) There are a number of Judith’s in the world, in every country, every city, every continent, with similar stories. A number of these women never come forward and they subject themselves to year and years of abuse. They don’t have people fighting for them in their corner. More than likely no one even knows their story. Judith was a bold woman. She told us her story. She wanted help. My prayers go out to the women with not help. The women stuck in situations like Judith with no way out. I challenge you to seek out help. Find someone to talk to. Pray to God, he listens.
2.) Judith has crazy faith, just like the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15. She was faced with adversity and took every obstacle that came to her. She didn’t get frustrated with when she had a victory and then a loss. She still praised His name. She still prayed to Him. She still had faith that God could move any mountain. She has such an amazing and pure heart. I pray that she continues to have a heart for the Lord and that others can see and take part in her crazy faith. It will change their lives, it changed my.
As I end this post I just want to say God knows the plans that He has for each everyone of us. Yes our plans are not like His. Some of us need to stop planning our every move and trust the Father. He knows what He’s doing. So after a crazy week, I choose to trust God. I choose to follow His plan. He loves us so much. We are His prince and princesses. Our faith, hope and trust should be in the Lord. If you don’t know God I challenge you to reach out to someone who does. You could even reach out to me or anyone on our team we can tell you all about His goodness and love.
Have a blessed evening friends.
Peace. Love. N Christ.
Brittine
