DAY FIVE (January 6): What a day this has been—life changing! It started off ordinarily enough at 5 a.m. as we got ready to travel to St Marc for morning worship. Pastor Primè was to preach. We left Borel at 6 in order to arrive before 7 at the Elim church where Evenson Guerrier is pastor. Church often begins early in the morning to beat the heat, especially in warmer months. When we got there at 6:45, worship was already in progress and the sanctuary was packed with at least 400 people. I tried to count, but ended up estimating. It was too hard to distinguish everybody in the crowd, especially the many small children. The dedication of the Haitian people to come out for worship at this early hour humbled me. I wondered how a 6 or 6:30 a.m. service in the US would go over. We do it once at Easter and think it a sacrifice. Many Haitian churches do it every week.

Elim Church

On the way to church we experienced something I hope I never face again. It troubled me all day and still haunts my thoughts. As we hastened down the road I saw the usual sights along the road: people walking and riding bikes along the road, others washing clothes and themselves in the canal, cattle and goats meandering here and there, etc. Then, unexpectedly ahead in the middle of the road was something large. From the second seat it first appeared to be a bundle or a sack. No, I suddenly realized, it was a man lying there. His blood stained the pavement. Our driver immediately called for help on his cell phone but didn’t stop. I didn’t know what to do or say. It all happened so quickly and I was unprepared.

All day long I relived the experience and thought about Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan. Of course I prayed for the man, but I have difficulty with the fact that I did nothing. No excuses are acceptable. I did nothing. I see the man on the road as representative of Haiti itself and all hurting people around the globe. I pledge myself to make a difference through direct involvement in our mission outreach. As I see it, it’s the Church that’s making the real difference for people in Haiti and worldwide. This is as it should be and I must do my part.

On the Road From Gilbert

The service at Elim concluded about 9:30 a.m. That’s a three hour service! Try that in a North American Anglo setting and see what happens. Part of the reason for the longer service was the ordination of Gadenet Louis into the gospel ministry. He works as an associate with Pastor Guerrier. From St Marc we traveled up the main road into the foothills to worship with the Gilbert congregation. They, too, were ordaining men into the ministry, Dorcè Saincort and Ariste Norvilus. The ride proved to be an experience in and of itself. I’ve been on better logging roads when hunting. It consisted of a single-lane, two-rut dirt track. We forded two streams and plunged through a 30 foot long pot hole filled with muddy water on the journey. Obviously there were no guard rails, not even along sheer drop-offs. At one of these points while heading down a 40 degree slope, what should come over the radio but “Just as I Am” in Creole. We didn’t need a translator. We broke out in laughter at the timing of “Jesus I Come.” This road is typical of Haiti where there are only three paved highways and even then only in places.

We arrived at Gilbert about 11 a.m. and the 40 x 60 foot dirt-floor bethel was packed with 300 plus people. Pastor Pierre-Max Normil, the newly elected conference president, insisted that we all join him up on the platform. So, we were led by two brigade girls to the front. The brigades consist of young people (age about 10-16 more or less) who serve like ushers, but more. They do seat people and take up the offering, but they also stand at attention down the center aisle and at the sides throughout the service. They also wear a uniform much like scouts. From the front I saw them take out a crying baby, separate two talking children (who all sat up front as a group—very well behaved) and rouse an adult who nodded off during the service. I’m thinking every church should organize brigade boys and girls.

Brigade Girls at Gilbert

Gilbert at Worship

Many good things happened during the service (ordination, child dedication, the Lord’s Supper, etc.) but the best had to be the first fruits offering. Apparently this occurs on the first Sunday of the New Year and is like a harvest home ingathering. One of the brigade girls brought forward a five gallon bucket (which are used everywhere in Haiti) and placed it in front of the pulpit. The congregation sang while people brought forward their cash offerings mostly in white envelopes. Then some people began to bring in literal first fruits: charcoal, sacks of peanuts, baskets of yams and more. The real excitement came with the animal offerings including four live chickens with legs tied and a young goat. They added their voices to the chorus, but then we heard a lot of squealing as a boy pulled forward a very reluctant shoat. Needless to say the unruly pig and the boy did not stay long. The offertory singing lasted twenty minutes and by the end everybody was quite happy in spirit and quite an offering had been received by the church. To see such joyful giving and to realize the level of sacrifice it represented blessed me beyond telling. I must reevaluate my own level of commitment.

The First Fruits Offering at Gilbert

After the service we made our way back to St Marc and back to Borel arriving there in mid-afternoon. I took a nap. The guys returned from Targette about 4:30 p.m. and shared their experiences with us. For a small mountain church (facility measuring about 16 x 24 feet) over 100 people attended worship and the school that meets there through the week serves over 200 children. Imagine all those people packed into that space. Amazing! We spent the evening in conversation and went to bed early, about 9 p.m.

Sign for Chandelle Church and School Chandelle Church

DAY 6 (January 7): Monday morning we spent on the compound and packed for the trip home. After lunch we ventured out to visit several of the near-by churches and schools, namely Chandelle and Savane Tapion. Chandelle School Grounds

Pastor Deshommes met us at the latter and gave us a tour of the church building and the two-story school structure under construction. They have a nice play ground for the children.

The Playground at Savane Tapion

The Savane Tapion Church

We left there and drove up to see the Albert Schweitzer hospital grounds and stopped by the marketplace.

Albert Schweitzer Hospital

Browsing Through the Marketplace

In the late afternoon we returned to Borel and after supper finished packing. Bedtime came at 9:30 p.m.

DAY 7 (January 8): Today we got going early as there were several stops to make on our journey back to Port. We left Borel at 7:30 a.m. and stopped at Frecyneau (south side of St Marc) to see the construction project of our Bethesda Church where Felix Estime is pastor. They’re erecting a sizable facility that will serve the school and the church.

Current Frecyneau Facility

Frecyneau Building in Progress

From there we went to Pierre Payen and saw the compound, the hospital where Vic and Donna Binkley work and the church building.

Pierre Payen Church

Pierre Payen Hospital

Then it was over the long and dusty bumpy road to the capital city. George and Martha had an earlier flight out but we left about 2 p.m. and arrived in Miami several hours later. After supper with Ed, Stacy and Zach we caught our flight to Detroit arriving there about midnight. We got home at 1:30 a.m. but our luggage didn’t come through for another 24 hours—just a small inconvenience. Linda and I hit the sack at 2 and slept soundly. It had been a great trip!

Ed

NOTE: In our writing there will always be the possibility of errors. I just don’t always remember correctly or have all the facts. I beg your indulgence and ask that you give me a call or email me when a correction is needed.