I would like to tell you about some very special people we met in a local village we visited on Monday. We (12 of us World Racers) stepped off the school bus in the village of Simonette with 3 translators, 1 Mission of Hope intern (Mission of Hope is the amazing ministry with which we have been working), and 1 Village Champion (kind of like a village chaplain employed by Mission of Hope). Simonette seemed to have a different feel to it than some of the other villages we'd visited. It seemed more welcoming and open to North Americans. The village champion led us by the small, colorful concrete homes with people gathered outside talking among themselves. Occasionally, we moved to the side of the rocky dirt road for a passing motorcyclist, which are everywhere here in Haiti.
The Village Champion then took a right, leading us off the road to a small cement shack. Although we've seen a lot of poverty in Haiti thus far, I came up against a scene I didn't know what to do with. Near the doorway of this small shack was an elderly woman lying on a worn mattress. She was wearing a white nightgown and was curled up, dipping some bread in what looked like some milk in a bowl. Through our translator we found out her name was Ann-Louise. The Village Champion said that people in the village help take care of her because she can't provide for herself, and we also found out she had something wrong with her eyes. Although we asked, she said there wasn't anything we could do for her. I was taken aback because I wanted to do something for her, but I felt I had nothing to offer that would be helpful. She said she knew Jesus, and we asked her for what we could pray. She said that we could pray for her knees (she most likely could not walk) and her vision. Gathering around, we laid our hands on her and prayed for her while our translator translated into Creole what we were praying. When we had finished praying, some of us shook her hand and said, "Merci," which in French (they speak French in Haiti as well) means "thank you."
From Ann-Louise's house, the Village Champion led us a few houses down the street to a cream colored house. Upon entering the yard, I saw a very tall Haitian man. Through the translator, the Village Champion said that this man was a very famous man in the village of Simonette. He explained that the man used to be a Voodoo priest, but was now a Christian. The man's name was Lucian Jean Pierre. He said that he became a Christian because he got sick and Voodoo wasn't working for him and that's when he turned to Jesus. He wore almost a constant smile the whole time he talked with us. We also asked him what we could pray for him, and he asked us to pray for his feet because he had gotten Chickengunya, a mosquito spread illness that makes your bones ache (also known as Bone Brake Disease because your bones hurt so bad), and his feet had still not healed. We prayed for him and thanked him and he thanked us.
After leaving Jean Pierre's house, we walked farther down and went through a gate and were invited into a house. Inside, we met a mother and son who were both ill. The mother was an elderly lady; I didn't catch her name. Her son was an adult and his name was Junior. The mother had pain in her hip and it seemed that she could do barely walk. She said that she had gone to specialists and they couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. I'm not sure what Junior's ailment was, but I know he was also limited in his mobility as well. We asked and they said they were believers. We felt the need to pray for their healing, so we split into two groups and one prayed for Junior and the other prayed for the mother. It was an intense time of prayer. Once we had prayed for them we talked to them a bit more. Someone commented on the fact that Junior smiled a lot, and one of our team members who speaks French talked to him and he said Junior said that it was God who put joy in his heart; that's why he smiles all the time.
My visit to Simonette was one of the hardest and most meaningful things I've done yet. I can't say I have all the answers to why those things are the way they are or why those sweet people aren't instantly healed, but I do know that God cares deeply for them and has a plan for their life.
