5 Images from 3 Days in Haiti

Flying back from Haiti, I’m filled with gratitude for all God did the last three days. I hope these word pics capture a few of the highlights…

1.  A Pound of Spaghetti. Aniove, a six-year-old sweetheart from Darivager (pictured to the right), made a quick recovery from her hernia surgery the previous day. I watched in amazement as this 35-pound wonder worked a heaping plate of dinner spaghetti like it was a rented mule. She didn’t move from her seat until every noodle had been put away.
2. A Broken Bus. God once again showed His sovereignty over all things (including broken things) as our GO Haiti bus, on a 14-hour journey through the north and central mountains, pooped out less than a five-minute walk from children living in our partner church’s care at Hinche. Dane Egli’s team took this as an opportunity for some anointed games of chase and tag with children who loved to play and can really get your mind off car trouble while other arrangements were made.
3. The Whiteboard Speaks. Deep systematic theological truths in magic marker being taught by Pastor John Gillespie from KC. At Jumecourt this week, all our GO Haiti partner pastors and other ministry leaders are completing the final ten hours of a 30-hour program they have been working thru the last two years. Today, Pastor John used marriage to explain the concepts of justification and sanctification. I was as married as I’ll ever be on July 23rd, 1994 (justification as an event), but I had much to learn and do in order to be a good husband (sanctification as as process), etc.
4. A Daddy-Daughter hug. As the pastors came from around Haiti to Jumecourt for training, their reunions with students at Pathways were especially sweet. Many of the young people at Pathways grew up in the care of the church, and these pastors are their spiritually-adopted dads. It was beautiful to watch the pastors, like Pastor Isaac (Marmelade), affirming the growth in these students like Katia (2nd year, about to graduate). Parents’ weekend, GO Haiti style, and it was good.
5. A Pastor’s Tears. In an honor culture, where pastors are highly esteemed and often expected to have all the answers, the tears of a pastor over the challenges of caring for children who need family are precious in the sight of The Lord. We love and respect our pastor partners. The weight they carry is immense.

At GO, we consider it a privilege to stand with God’s church in Haiti and around the world. We give thanks for these gifts of grace. Jesus is doing more than we can ask or think, and He is not finished yet…far from it.