day 3

Day 3 – Friday 12th - We had a special privilege today. We were invited to train 20or so pastors in crisis counseling. Of course none of us are professional counselors, but between the training we were given by our mission and the experiences of Mark Lewis, our Crisis Response Director, it actually turned out well. Mark started us out, gave an encouraging word and shared some of his experience in Peru, Philippines, China, New Orleans and other places. I (Mike) shared a simple 5 step process of listening to victims. Then we broke into small groups of 6 or 7 and showed them how it works.
My group went very well, but it was sobering, to say the least. I walked two of the pastors through the process. Both spoke of the heavy weight of responsibility that they carry and the sense of helplessness. One is sleeping with his family under a sheet. Two of the churches he is responsible for had their buildings collapse. Hundreds of people in the association he leads are sleeping in the streets. Many are having a difficult time getting food. The other pastor started with this statement, “unfortunately I wasn’t here when the quake happened.” He had a very hard time getting back home to care for his family and survivors from the quake. He lost no family members, but has 7 relatives living with his family in his small house. Neither pastor has hardly slept in the last month (yes, it’s been a month since the quake). The pastor’s were grateful to receive this training. It was clearly significant for them to be heard and to know that the guilt feelings from having survived, the heavy burden, frustration and anger are normal. We prayed together numerous times. We sensed that the Lord was so present with us.
The President of Haiti has declared Friday, Saturday, Sunday as days of prayer. Most of the stores are closed, especially in the morning. As we drove through PaP it was good to see many people walking to houses of worship. Many groups are under large tarps on the street or in open lots. Some of us are fasting and praying, along with the Haitian people. We heard that the word has gone out in the US that these are days of mourning. On the streets, among the people and on the radio, the strong sense is of repentance and a calling out for mercy from God. Our prayer today has been for revival to break out in the land of Haiti, for the salvation of many and a move of God’s Spirit.
On the way to the house we rented we stopped at the church of Pastor Absolon, the young pastor of the Free Church plant in PaP. He was with us all in the crisis counseling training this morning and wanted us to stop by his church to see what was happening. When we arrived, there were close to 70 or so people worshipping and calling out to the Lord. People were coming forward to surrender their lives to Christ. We were told that over 40 people had turned to Jesus since the earthquake. It was awesome to see a piece of this. It was also great to meet pastor Absolon. Many throughout our churches had been praying for him after the earthquake. For days we wondered if he was alive. He is alive and well Thank you Lord!! He is a young pastor and a newlywed. His wife just found out she is pregnant. Please pray for her.
Today was moving day as well, from the hostel we were staying at to the house we rented in Gressier, 8 or so miles west of the epicenter. Being that we are going to be here for the long haul, we need to set up a place to receive teams of trainers, ministry teams and the like. We were slowed by the lack of stores open, but we made it to the house and made so much progress. We ended the day with a working generator, a semblance of order in the kitchen, one working (cold ) shower, the beginnings of an office set up and a place for everyone. One of our biggest problems is lack of the right equipment to set up internet. It looks like we will be without working internet until Tuesday the 16th. We have two phones that for the 9 of us that can do some things on the internet, but it will be quite spotty.
It was a huge day. Thank you Lord for Your direction and presence with us today.
Mike