I want to introduce you to a friend of
mine. Her name is Estelle. I met her this past week in Jacmel. She is precious.
I had the privilege of meeting her when a group of us girls went to invite
people to our afternoon service. She was watching us talk to another man and we
saw her from a distance. We felt compelled to talk to her, and that’s where our
relationship began.
Estelle is 21. She lives in a small home by
herself…and when I say small, I mean small. Everything is in one room – her
bed, clothes, table and chairs, dishes, refrigerator, tv and whatever else you
can imagine. It is neat and tidy and she doesn’t complain. I was astounded…I
remember working on the cruise ship and complaining because I lived in a
“square box” for two people with no window/air flow etc…I realize now that I
really had NOTHING to complain about. That was only a few months…this is her
whole life!
Estelle moved away from her home in the
mountains when she was 16. She doesn’t have a good relationship with her
parents, for reasons unknown to us. She is going to school to be a lawyer. She
loves God and is growing in her faith. She understands some English, speaks
some French but speaks mainly Creole. She grew up knowing about God. She was
blessed by a bible we gave her in French. We had a lot of fun flipping through
it underlining verses and reading verses to her. Specific ones like Galatians
5:22 and Matthew 10:29-35 as they were verses that went along with things we were
talking to her about
This woman is happy. She smiles from the
bottom of her heart. Her joy radiates. She captivated my heart. I was able to
share my story with her and have her share bits and pieces of her story. She
doesn’t see her family much but when they come to visit, they pile into her
house! She is so friendly, loving and dear to my heart!
I am blessed to know this woman. I have
only seen and talked to her twice, but God knew that we needed to meet her and
encourage her in her faith. He has big plans for her. She couldn’t wait to show
us her hospitality. She was anxiously awaiting us to return to see her the
following day. She asked when we would be back again, and as we answered our “I
don’t knows” you could see the sadness in her heart. My response to her was,
“If the Lord wills it, we will return.” I would love to take the time to go
back and visit this beautiful woman of the Lord!
Please pray for her and the Haitians. There
is so much corruption here. They appear to be very legalistic. Pray that their
love for God will stem from the heart and not just be known n their minds.
Haiti needs to be free. They are a deprived Nation. They need your prayers.
Estelle needs your prayers. We need your prayers as we encounter many different
experiences that draw us to our knees and give thanks to God for safety, grace,
patience, wisdom, safety, health and so much more.
When everything around us fails, we need to
remember that God is STILL on the Throne (Thanks Dave Brown for that reminder).
