The majority of our ministry at All of God’s Children Orphanage in Haiti has consisted of teaching the kids English and bible studies throughout the week. We take Saturdays and Sundays for planning for the week ahead, rest, playing with the children in more relaxed atmospheres and church. This past Sunday we got a treat!
Wilfrid, one of three men who are full-time administrators for the orphanage, took our team to a plot of land the orphanage purchased for refugees who have been misplaced due to the earthquake. It is a about ten acres of lush, green fields where livestock roam in the mountains, about a twenty minute walk from the orphanage. Wilfrid took us with a specific purpose in mind. To tell them about Jesus.
About two in the afternoon, one of the hottest times of the day here, we loaded up our backpacks with supplies consisting of toiletries, socks and shoes, and toys for children and began our trek. Wilfrid explained many of these families have nothing. Nothing on Haitian standards is pretty bare minimum. The orphanage also likes to use these visits to make sure these families at least have tooth brushes, toothpaste, soap, etc.
As we sloppily began tromping through the mud in a cow field to get to the first area of huts, Wilfrid explained that we were going to see ‘the witch doctor’. I was at the same time excited for this, wondering if he was going to have a bare bone protruding from his nose, and uneasy at stepping into a dark, spiritual realm. God has blessed me with the spiritual gift of intuition and being able to sense/feel unseen presences, a gift that still unfortunately can hold fear over me at times.
We approach a small blue shack at the top of a hill. It doesn’t even take me getting close to the structure to see and feel the oppression surrounding this space on such a bright, sunny day. We meet a very small Haitian man who lives there, Jean Claude. Most evangelism I’ve previously been involved in stresses forming a relationship with the one you are witnessing to in order to build trust first. They don’t get down like this around here. After a brief, awkward introduction Wilfrid turns to us and says, ‘Okay, you can tell him about Jesus.’
Not much to Wilfrid’s amusement we try to break the ice with some introductory questions, ‘Have you visited the church at the orphanage?’, etc. Jean Claude tells us he has not. He is not ready for a relationship with God because he has to prepare himself first. The life he has been living has not been a good one. He practices voodoo and witchcraft to protect his family and bring vengeance on those who have wronged him, but he is tired of living this way. He does not like it and knows his life needs to change. He just doesn’t know how. Ah, bingo.
Before I have time to think, the Holy Spirit tag teams me in. I plop down on the tree stump next to Jean Claude and try for eye contact. My presence seems to make him a little squirmy, he will not look in my eyes but at my face and when I look into his eyes I see a swirling of darkness and distraction. I begin silently praying for whatever has a hold over him to be banished in the name of Jesus, I pray his soul and mind free from any voice other than the voice of God, and the Holy Spirit starts speaking through me.
I share a version of my testimony with Jean Claude . I tell him I too was once at a point in my life where I did not like the way I was living. I was practically exhausted and knew change needed to come, I just could not do for myself any longer. Everything I tried to bring myself pleasure seemed to bring more darkness into my life. I tell Jean Claude how I finally accepted an invitation from a close friend of mine to attend church. And it was then that I heard about the freedom we can receive through Jesus Christ. I share a simple Gospel outline with him. I began to place my trust in a personal relationship with Jesus and it was He who delivered me from the bondage I placed over myself into a life of freedom through the death He died on the cross not only for me, but for Jean Claude, for Wilfrid, for all the members of my team standing around us. Not because of anything I deserved or had done, but because He desired a relationship with me and He loves me.
We told Jean Claude this all holds true for him too. This was maybe a ten minute conversation and the change in those ten minutes was amazing. Jean Claude is choked up and telling us this is something he desires. He needs to think over some things, but he wants to come to church with us the following Sunday to hear more. We pray with Jean Claude and tell him we are looking forward to seeing him Sunday.
We visited several other families on this trip, one more consisting of a witch doctor, Manu. The amazing part about both of these encounters was that each witch doctor told us they were very happy to see us in their hills telling people about Jesus. These men were not dark, crazy painted savages. These men had a great knowledge about Jesus Christ, they just did not have the hope or belief that they could have a life with him. After the time we spent with both speaking truth into them they both said they would very much like to see us at church on Sunday. We are praying for this and we’ll see what happens!
One Week Later…
Jean Claude came to church today and brought his son, Johnny! This is the first witch doctor we approached, the man I shared my testimony with, and to be honest, the one I thought would be least likely to come. Manu was one of the other witch doctors we witnessed to. We did not see him at church, but three of his six children came and introduced themselves in front of the congregation.
I took a picture with Jean Claude and his son to share with you all but have had great diffuculty posting pictures since we’ve been in Haiti – when we find a better connection I will update so you can see the faces you’ve been praying for. Thank you all for your interest and prayers in these lives we are witnessing to here. You are just as much a part of this journey as myself and my dedicated teammates.
After the church I asked Jean Claude if he liked the service. He said yes and he plans to come back from now on. Amen! A missionary on another team visting from America spoke about being light in a dark world. He confronted the world of voodoo head-on in his message and shared that the elements and creatures people in these villages are worshipping were created by our God. I will continue to pray for the impact this could have on Jean Claude and the new life he told us he desires. This was a great way to spend our last service in Haiti!
