The Heartbeat of Haiti

11 days ago, I began my 11-month journey in Haiti. While I am only beginning to scratch the surface of understanding the culture, language, and heartbeat of this nation, I am already seeing God’s presence and vision for this country. I have seen a spark igniting within the Church. God is calling this country to ACTION.

Upon entering the Port au Prince airport, a man said something to me that struck me in a deep way. For those who are unaware, the time I entered Haiti was the weekend after protests and political unrest were just beginning to settle. The man looked at me, asked me about what I would be doing here in Haiti, and said, “Wow. You decided to come right now. Haiti is on fire.” While the man made this statement in quite a literal way, I can’t help but believe that this remark, whether he intended it or not, was indicative of something greater happening within the country.

Two days after arriving, I attended a local church that gave me a closer glimpse and greater understanding of why this airport exchange wasn’t just meaningless small talk. The message spoken was a very direct, powerful, call to action. The pastor encouraged the Church, or the followers of Christ, to take this time of dissension and fear as an opportunity to STAND UP. He declared that it is our responsibility not just to pray, but to act and carry out the call God has put on our lives.

Upon traveling to another community, meeting with some Haitian friends, and visiting another local church, this mindset of taking action and carrying out God’s call was reiterated. I observed God preparing the hearts of young adults to take their stories of what God has done in their lives to unreached places. I listened to another local pastor’s vision to disciple believers and shift the mindset of religion to a personal, relational model. I participated in prayer sessions in which vision and excitement for God’s plan in this nation was advanced.

While this is only the beginning, I can already see that God is moving in Haiti. While the man at the airport may have literally meant the country was on fire, I believe that this “fire” is indicative of the rapid release of light—God’s light---that is releasing in Haiti. As this flame is igniting among the Haitian people, I can’t wait to see how the local Church will arise to spread the Gospel.

Let us pray for this sense of urgency to continue to fan into flame, challenging the Church in Haiti to mobilize the Gospel and take the Holy Spirit to places it hasn’t gone before.

Until next time,

Tamara

The Beauty of Haiti

Many have read or heard of the events that have taken place in Haiti over the past few days. While it’s easy to watch a short news clip and make assumptions that A + B led to C, or to make a generalization that the actions of a few are representative of the population, I would encourage us to take a deeper look and try to better understand the cultural context and heart of Haiti.

While I am not a Haitian national and certainly don’t consider myself an expert on Haitian culture, I would like to highlight some of the beauty I have witnessed in this country as a reminder that God is working and present in this people group.

These are just a few of the many moments that I found very striking and beautiful within Haitian culture:  

1.) Upon receiving a pack of gum as a gift, a little boy around 8 years old opened the pack up and proceeded to pass it around and make sure each one of his friends got a piece. Within a minute, the pack was entirely empty. I remember watching this and thinking how many times I have had a pack of gum and tried to be stealthy about getting a piece when it was almost empty because I wanted to save the last piece for myself. Sad, but true! This little boy reminded me that we are to value our neighbor as much as we value ourselves.

2.) When talking with a young Haitian man about how I was struggling to figure out what I was going to do with my life and worrying about how everything would work out, he reminded me that God is faithful. Although this young man was uncertain about how he would pay for his own schooling or find work, he had peace and hope deeper than my own. He trusted God fully with the future (regardless of circumstance) and encouraged me to do the same.

3.) While visiting a pediatric hospital, a young mom who had never met me before looked at me and allowed me to hold her newborn baby. While I was a complete stranger to her, we exchanged a few words and she passed her baby to me. I found her trust and kindness to be very admirable, particularly in that she would allow me to hold something so precious to her even though she didn’t really know me.

While I could go on and share many more stories, I believe these small moments speak volumes about the people of Haiti. Although there were some violent actions and negative moments that were spotlighted this week in Haiti, I would encourage those of us whom are from a very different background and living in a different context to remember that this is not representative of Haiti. Rather, Haiti is largely a country of beautiful, inspiring people that have resilience and kindness in the face of much adversity.

As we move forward and news about Haiti settles, let us remember to pray for this country. God is working in the lives of Haitians and hope is rising. Let it be our prayer that He continues to do good work, and that restoration is found through Jesus Christ.

Until next time,

Tamara