There is a consensus across the board that there is a heavy and dark presence here. This country is oppressed, not just poor, but oppressed.
To understand why that seems so odd to me, we have to look back to the beginning of August to set the stage. My team had just finished a children ministry in the Dominican Republic during the month of July and we were preparing to go to Haiti in August. Everyone seemed to have their own accounts of how horrible the conditions were after the earthquake and how there was such a dark and overwhelming presence there. Whether from images they had seen on CNN, from secondhand and even from firsthand accounts, a lot of us imagined how difficult this next month will be.
To my surprise, Haiti could not have been any more of the opposite. There was joy and hope and life and prosperity. There was a positive spirit of community as everyone rallied together to rebuild after the quake. (Of course, this is not a generalization about the country in it’s entirety, this is meerly my experience. It’s imperative to recognize that circumstances like where I stayed, who I worked will, what kind of work I did, the time frame, etc…)
Romanians were the ones in desperate need of encouragement. We have been working with several different missionaries in Olt, a poor county in the southern part of the country. They have given up themselves, their jobs, families, friends and life as they knew it to chase after God’s will for their life. They were each called to bring Light to a dark place, and even though it seems like a daunting and scary thing to do, being in the middle of God’s will for your life is the safest place you can be.
We have worked with the missionaries to help and support them in whatever capacity they need. We have been involved in physical labor constructing several new churches, working with children, distributing bibles and information about Jesus among other things.
However, I believe that the most important thing we have done in this country by far is encourage the long term missionaries here. We have spoken life and cheered on our brothers and sisters who are standing tall for what they believe in.
The other day we traveled to a small, remote village where one missionary family was staying. We expected to go out there and help cut and store firewood for the winter. For about 10 minutes we did that and then Christi, the missionary, said that was enough. Craig, my teammate, and I insisted that we could do a lot more work, but he said, ‘No, no, no, lets go talk.’
Sure enough we talked. They expressed how they were so lonely without any friends or support in that remote community. They needed to just talk, about anything to someone who would listen. We ended up talking for several hours with the family and we encouraged them, especially in their efforts to bring Christ to that village. We left their home so happy that day because you could see the Life in their eyes and smiles as they waved us off.
Romans 15: 1, 5-7
We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. …May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
