(Based of a journal entry from Feb 8th)
In the last week before leaving the Dominican Republic, the hype for Haiti really grew; however, the hype wasn’t necessarily excitement, but anxiety. The people in the Dominican kept telling us it was dangerous and we shouldn’t be coming here. News of political unrest and riots were beginning to spread. People were beginning to talk about being afraid of what was to come in Haiti.
As we drove closer to the border, you could feel the tension rise.
Looking out the window, the land was becoming increasingly desolate. It was as if the land was drying up before our eyes.
An hour before the border, our bus came to a stop in the middle of the road. When asked why we were stopping, one of my squad mates said “It’s because of a riot”. I thought he was just saying that because of the news we were hearing about Haiti, until I looked out the window. In front of us people had thrown burning bushes and shrubs into the road. With news of the protest spreading through our bus, the tension began to rise.
I expected to be waiting for a few hours for it to clear, but somehow we only waited about 20 minutes until we were able to pass by safe and sound.
Not only did we quickly pass through the protest quickly, but we went through customs without a hitch. Past racers had warned us that the Haiti-Dominican border is a difficult one to cross. One thing the Lord made evident is that He definitely was with us during our drive. We could feel our prayers, and the prayers of our loved ones from home, being answered.
Looking out the window as we drove along the side a huge lake, one of my squad leaders, Sara, pointed out people fishing. Even though there was a ton of water in the lake, the land and trees surrounding it were dried out. As we passed Sara said, “Look, there is life in Haiti”. It was such a simple statement, but the Lord used it to speak to my heart.
There is so much death spoken into Haiti: It is unsafe, the people aren’t good enough, they need to rely on others, etc. The people here believe the lies being said about them, creating a vicious cycle; however, I don’t believe for one second that the darkness will overcome Haiti.
In the Dominican Republic, I felt God bringing life to our group as we saw His beauty so evident in the mountains. He romanced us last month with His creation. Right before we left the Dominican Republic, I found out my grandma had passed away. It was/is so incredibly hard not being able to be with my family while dealing with her death. How do you began to process death, especially processing it from another country?
With all the life that is in the Dominican Republic, I experienced death in the literal since. Now that I am in Haiti, a place of “death”, I want to see life. The Lord is showing me there is so much life to be found in Haiti.
On our recent adventure day to a local waterfall, the Lord gave me just another taste of the life He has to show me here. As we were driving down the dustiest road I’ve ever been on, I was praying over the land we were passing by. During that time, I asked the Lord to show me what He has for Haiti, and to really see. I look down into the valley we were passing and there was a big church with a large cross outside. The Lord spoke to me saying, “Haiti is mine. I have claimed this land and they are my people”.
There is so much life to be found in Haiti. The Lord sees Haiti and loves the people here. He has not forgotten about them. He is here working, and I can’t wait to see what more He has in store for us in Haiti!
