Day 9 - February 18, 2010
What possible good could come out of a disaster like this in Haiti? As Americans I’m afraid we would just get mad at God and wonder how he could desert us. But in the middle of devastation that is beyond description, God is present in a very powerful way here in Haiti. Perhaps some Haitians think this is the end of the world, others that God is punishing them, but overall this earthquake has caused the Haitian people to humbly seek the Lord. This past weekend, Haiti declared 3 days of countrywide fasting and prayer. We heard that in the States it was publicized as days of mourning. It appeared to us that the worship was a mixture of thanks, praise and repentance. Everywhere we went groups and churches were meeting to pray and give thanks to God for the safety of their surviving family members. Streets were closed at every turn. To get to our church service we had to take detour upon detour. But what a problem!! We rejoiced as we saw the Haitian people praising God and seeking him to heal their land. Our teammate Sarah said that it reminded her of the verse from 2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” It just made us cry. We have been receiving reports from numerous mission groups of mass conversions across this land. All are speaking of revival in Port au Prince, hundreds upon thousands giving their lives to Christ. That’s the amazing and wonderful news. We are rejoicing that in the middle of this catastrophe God is alive and well, sweeping this country with His Spirit and His love.
That brings us to a huge prayer request. Can you imagine what it’s like right now to be the pastor of a Haitian church? Many in your congregation have lost family members and/or homes, are in deep mourning and in need of counseling. Most, if not all, are hungry and struggling to find food and sleeping on the street. The needs are beyond their ability to meet. (And they have lost loved ones as well!) Then, there is a moving of the Spirit and new believers that need to be followed up. Their churches can’t fit all the people inside. A little overwhelming? Yeah, I would say so. Mike went to visit Pastor Absolom this morning as he was leaving the hospital. He has bronchitis and his wife is 6 weeks pregnant and can’t keep any rice down because of her morning sickness. They are young and overwhelmed. We brought them food and vitamins to help them keep going. We are doing what we can to support and help him, but he needs your prayers. Please pray for health and strength for this young couple. Our friend Tom, with all of the orphans, told us their church which had grown to an attendance of around 500 people before the earthquake. He said that this past Sunday they had 1300 people under and flowing out of their worship tent. Their pastor quit a few months before the earthquake – we don’t even know who is pastoring all those baby sheep. Please pray for these Haitian pastors. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. ReachGlobal is planning on coming alongside these pastors to mentor, encourage, and help train these new believers, as well as the young pastors themselves. What an amazing problem. I am just reminded how God promises that all things work together for good for those who trust him. The Haitians are trusting in God and He is blessing them with a harvest beyond imagination. They rejoice and we rejoice with them.
We are praying for the pastors, leaders and the many new followers of Christ. Please pray with us that this fruit will remain. Pray for wisdom, health, strength and courage for these overwhelmed men of God.
Praying together,
Linda
PS. If you want to see an interesting video clip we took of a ride through the open air market in Port au Prince (at the epicenter; Carrefour), just click here:
FYI: With the arrival of Trinity Kay from California, we are now 4 women in the house. Since moving out to the backyard, we've had one tiny tremor, one large brown spider, two tarantulas and two rats. So, we decided to move back indoors last night and the guys were kind enough to give us our room with the bathroom back. We decided the tremors were the least of our worries. Women, always changing our minds! :)
hi
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