Maybe that is overdramatic, but hopefully it got your attention. Instead of the world ending, Pathways Church will simply be meeting at Glacier Peak High School in their Performing Arts Center on March 20th. On March 21st, all normal activity will resume for the world.
Today was our final day in Kenscoff and it was a DOOZY. Yesterday’s clinic went incredibly well; it was highly organized and our team was able to see over 180 people. It went so well that the team didn’t have to close the clinic; the people just sort of petered out. We were not sure if we would have anyone today and we thought about canceling and going to a different spot. But, we made a commitment and figured it would be best to be open for at least a little while.
And it was a good thing we did! When the cars rolled up, there were already over 80 people waiting for the doctors. The dental team pulled anywhere from 1-5 teeth from from 38 people, our eye doctor ran nearly out of eyeglasses and did run out of sunglasses, and the doctors worked from the proverbial sunup to sundown. All told, we lost count after 200 people crossed through the doors of the clinic. The team was just weary, and it was only by God’s grace that the medical staff was able to see everyone.
Today also marks the last full day of our real hard work here in Haiti. Tomorrow, part of the team will be gathering information at JP-One for HELP’s Help One Now campaign in the morning, but in the afternoon, we’ll be spending time at a local art market, having a good local meal, and generally having a good, solid cool down time. It will be great to have a final meeting with everyone to process and talk through the ups and downs of our trip.
Whenever you visit a place like this, it is easy to feel like we’re not doing enough for Haiti. When you take a panoramic view of the land, the information overload is nearly crippling. It feels like we were trying to fix the Leaning Tower of Pisa with some Silly Putty and a toothpick. In the dark. The challenge for us is to remember that we were not called to fix the entire broken nation; we were called to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the individuals we encountered.
So please pray that we will not be discouraged by the work left to do but that we will take joy in what we have already accomplished through the seeds we have sown and the lives we have touched.
First of all, thank you for your prayers! Today was a great one and we really can credit your love and support for helping to make it happen.
Our team was split into two today. A few of us went to a little community called Drouin, which was about 4 1/2 hours away. It was the site of the cholera outbreak last month, so we were taking every precaution heading into the area. Drouin was a totally different Haiti than the one that we see in the cities. The terrain was beautiful but the location was *remote*. It reminded me of driving along the canals in South Florida, but instead of nice water, it was just brown and filthy. Cholera was keeping the residents from their normal routines of bathing, washing, and cooling off in the river, but life has to go on. If there was no other water, they were still forced to use it for their basic needs.
The purpose of our visit was to meet two local pastors. They were in charge of both a church and a school for the neighboring children. We were able to spend some time with them and found them to be as beautiful and shy as the city kids. However, they were children marked with tragedy. We noticed a few of the children wearing black instead of the cheery blue uniforms of the others. We asked why and were told that meant that they had recently lost someone close to them. One girl lost her 21-year old sister to cholera. Another just lost her father to a different disease. Even in their tragedy, they were still able to laugh with the others. One other thing that we noticed was that as we were taking their pictures for our Help One Now initiative that when we asked them to smile, they didn’t seem to know how — really! If we could get them to laugh, they would beautifully. But several of them just couldn’t quite get their faces to do this very simple thing; it was like they had forgotten how from lack of practice. Of course, the life they lead does not create many smiles.
The medical team spent their time in Kinscoff ministering to the community there. The dental team pulled over 50 teeth, and Jason was proud to declare “there were no screamers!” Altogether, they saw 180 people today and the list seems long for tomorrow. The Haitian people live with pain on a daily basis because they have no idea of anything different, so it is always amazing to see someone’s face after they are given medicine or one of the doctors can fix what is not working.
We always set up a prayer corner where the patients can go after they are treated if they so desire. The stories that emerge from those are always challenging, but there was one 81-year old woman that really blew our team away. She lost every single family member in the earthquake. Savannah found out that she had been a believer for a long time and asked if she was ever angry at God for what happened like many of the people we see. The woman was surprised and responded “Why? My God is no different today than he yesterday or the day before.”
I do not know how to relate to people that have had to dig their family out of rubble or have had to watch a family member die of a disease that would be treated in a matter of hours in any decently-equipped modern clinic. Nor have I any way to understand the concept of forgetting how to smile. But, my God is no different than theirs and I hope that one day I can trust Him the way that they do.
One of the most amazing things about being in Haiti is meeting the people that are here ministering on a full-time basis. Every day we are encountering people that are simply being Jesus to the Haitians, and their passion, dedication, sacrifice, and labor are truly humbling and encouraging to behold. Today, we were able to meet two such people, Jay Cherry and Pastor St-Cyr.
Jay and his wife finished college in Florida, decided to quit their jobs and moved to a remote village in Haiti to open an orphanage. By “remote”, I mean that they were the only English-speakers for miles. Armed with only a Kreole dictionary, they taught hardened Haitian children how to be loved. Now, they are serving with Mission of Hope, an organization that has been doing amazing work in Haiti for many years. He was just the most humble person we had ever encountered, and the love and passion that he has for the Haitian people seemed almost tangible.
Pastor St-Cyr, on the other hand, is a *preacher*. He’s the type of preacher that has, for example, put loudspeakers on his roof so that he could share the Gospel to his entire neighborhood and that taught himself French so that he could minister to the educated class in Haiti because “rich people need Jesus too.” Before the earthquake, he had a school and a church near the Prime Minister’s home in Port-au-Prince. After the quake, he set up a church in the rapidly growing tent city JP-One and held services every night for 7 months. His influence became so strong that he is now the camp director for the entire camp – over 53,000 people!
We were able to visit his church tonight and were treated to a great evening. The passion of the people as they worship their — and our — God transcended our language barrier and we were able to worship together with them (and the music was FANTASTIC). Chris and Scott were able to share with the church, and then we distributed whistles to the women of his church as a deterrent to the sexual violence that can be prevalent in some of the corners of the cities. It was such a small thing, yet the simplicity and relatively small expense of this solution is unfortunately common and very discouraging as well.
The days and the people are finally catching up to us. The needs of Haiti are never-ending and the people are the epitome of beautiful but so, so tragic. We are starting to feel like we are putting band-aids on tumors. But Pastor St-Cyr said something so simple today that really brought hope to the team: “The longest journey starts with the smallest step.” The reality is that we are taking tiny, baby steps alongside our Haitian family and that God is truly in their midst.
So, please pray for us. Pray for emotional strength as we try to continue to restore a little dignity and hope to our friends. Also, pray again for our medical team as they will be serving our church community tomorrow in Kenscoff and for the few of us that will be traveling to a new community in hopes of beginning another orphan program there.
(and big thanks to those of you that are posting links to these updates on Facebook, Twitter, and your blogs, and also for the words of encouragement in the comments and the Facebook notes, etc. It really does mean the world to us.)
Mwen renmen ou!
(by ken)
Today was tough. We didn’t realize how hard it was until we had our team meeting tonight and we all discovered that we were sitting in a room full of people that had just been collectively broken for the community of Yahve Shamma.
The brokenness came as we were able to dive deeper into relationship with our interpreters and Pastor Gaetan. The stories of what happened to them and their families both during the earthquake and in the months that have followed are harrowing and nearly unbelievable (like in the way most Hollywood blockbusters can hold your attention without making you actually think that live sized transforming alien car/robots will actually one day invade earth). But they were real, epic in their tragedies, and far too common. No one single nation should have to suffer like the Haitian people.
Pastor Gaetan, on the other hand, has to be from another planet. His humility, his dedication, and his overwhelming concern for his children is truly otherworldly. A few of us were able to spend more time with him and there is not enough hyperbole in the English language to describe the amazing work he is doing with his children. He keeps thanking us for our sacrifice in coming to Haiti when the reality is that he will spend nearly every waking minute for the forseeable future feeding, bathing, and teaching 30 children that he now proudly calls his own.
A few months ago, the Pastor and his wife were offered residency in the Dominican Republic. It’s a chance that many Haitians would jump at because the quality of life is so much higher. He talked about it with his wife, and they both said, “But who would care for the children?” He continued “God gave me these children for a reason, so that I can save their lives. There will be time to go later.”
There are more stories to be told from today, but they are stories that deserve more time and care than I and the rest of us have the capacity to give. Please pray for us because we are weary . . . not from the work, but from the emotions behind it. Since we’ve been back at our missions home tonight, some of our team members have not been able to stop crying from the emotions of what they experienced today. Also, please pray for our safety tomorrow as we visit the largest tent city in Port-au-Prince with one of the most prominent pastors in Haiti.
We know that you all have been praying for our health and safety, and let me assure you that we can tell. We have been blessed with the connections and the encounters that we have had already and anticipate many more in the coming days.
Talk to you tomorrow.
We visited Yahve Shamma today, which is an orphanage and school run by an amazing man named Pastor Gaetan. And, when I say “amazing”, I really mean it. Only six weeks ago, there was no school. It was only the bare side of a hill. Now, there is a school with over 120 students divided up into 5 classes.
Before January’s earthquake, he was taking care of 14 orphans, as well as his own 2 children. He now has 32 children in his care. The real tragedy here is that only a few of the children are “double orphans”, meaning both parents are gone. Most of the children have been dropped off because the parents could not care for the child any more. Sometimes, the parent will return, but for most of the children, the Gaetan’s will be the only parents they will have from now on.
As mentioned last night, our team was split into two. The orphan care team spent the day helping the children write letters to their sponsors, doing some arts and crafts, and just getting to know the kids. It took a little while for them to get over their timidity — and the language barrier did not help — but once they did, the kids were full of smiles and pulling us in every which direction. They played ball, jumped ropes, tried on the costumes we brought, and generally found a way to grab hold of our hearts in their tiny little hands.
The medical team had a much less fun of a time, although their work was incredibly important. All of the students, as well as a few parents and adults from the neighborhood were able to be seen by our family doctors, as well as our eye doctor and our dentist. Our team handed out countless bags of medicine, along with eyeglasses, toothpaste and the most important thing — candy!
Tomorrow, we will be back in the same place serving the surrounding community. Pastor Gaetan estimates that at least 350 people will be in line to try to see our medical team. Most of these people have not seen a doctor in over a year, and there are sure to be many with severe needs. Please pray for our team, and specifically for our dental team. They were far and above the hardest working pair today, pulling over 40 teeth today — tomorrow will certainly be much worse. Also, please pray that we have enough medicine and manpower to see as many of these people as possible.
Just before we left today, we were able to get all of the orphans together with Pastor Gaetan. We thanked him for what he was doing, and through the interpreter, he thanked us. He said, “I keep you all deep within my heart for what you’re doing for my country.” May we all keep the Haitian people deep within our own hearts, knowing that the Father already has them deep with His.
Haiti, Day 2
The story of the day — and definitely of the trip so far — came as we were driving through Port-au-Prince. As we stopped near the rubble of the Presidential Palace, we had several children run up to the truck and ask for money. The only thing Chris could say was “Not today. Hold on, hold on. Just hold on a little while longer. It’s going to get better.” The shakiness of Chris’ voice and the desperation of the little boys as they ran after the truck because it was their only hope just slapped all of us right in the face.
The hardiness of the Haitian people continues to overwhelm me. It was amazing to see people emerging from the dirt and squalor of their tents dressed for church. And not just dressed — dressed better than many of us do for our own churches. The Haitian people refuse to give up on their dignity, although they have had to learn to balance that dignity with their need.
Tomorrow, our team will begin serving Yahve Shamma, a community about 15 minutes outside of Port-au-Prince. Our medical team will be pulling teeth, checking eyes, and doing some overall general check-ups. The orphan care team will be running a camp for the 30 orphans sponsored through Help End Local Poverty’s Help One Now initiative. Please pray that our doctors and nurses are able to work efficiently and effectively so that we can treat a maximum number of people. Pray that our orphan care team will make lasting connections despite the language barrier and that they will be able to bring joy and fun to (and receive joy and fun from) the children.
Dear Friends, Family, Supporters, Donors, Praying Grandmothers, and the entire interweb community:
We made it! All 17 members of the HELP team made it safely to Port-au-Prince this afternoon. Even more of a miracle — we only lost one bag (1st prayer request: recovery of said missing luggage).
We had no idea what we would find upon our arrival to Haiti, especially those of us who have not yet had a chance to visit. Haiti was devastated by last January’s earthquake and even our team members who had been here knew what sort of havoc a severe rainstorm can wreak on this fragile and abused half of the island. Thankfully, the storm didn’t do what it could have, and the country can go back to simply trying to rebuild after the quake.
One of the hardest things for us to remember is that the Haitian people have such a quiet dignity and strength. Their country has not been kind to them, and yet they do not act like victims unless we thrust that upon them. They are the very definition of resilience as most of the people still live with confident optimism. They do not need nor want our pity, but yet they are gracious in receiving our much-needed assistance.
Our day tomorrow will consist of visiting one of our partner churches where Chris will be speaking. We will take a prayer journey to several communities and tent cities to get a feel for the island, a sense of the people, and let the Holy Spirit speak to us for further ways we can serve the country of Haiti. Our medical team will be preparing to help and comfort the hundreds of people that they will be seeing over the next few days.
Please keep all of us in your prayers. Take a minute tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon to join us in prayer as we ask God to continue to show grace and mercy on this beautiful, broken land.
For Him,
The HELP team.
ps: Pathways, thank you again for your support and your prayers. You’re changing the world! – ken
Right now, I am working with a group of leaders in our church to work through and establish a Mission Statement that summarizes in a simple way, what our purpose is as a church community. In the course of a discussion, I was asked, “What do you want Pathways to look like?” So, I sat at my computer and let a stream of consciousness flow from my fingers. I thought I would share that with you…
I want Pathways to be a church that empowers people to live out their gifts & abilities for Kingdom purposes. I want Pathways to be a church that does not operate out of guilt but out of passion. I want Pathways to be known as a church that has a serving presence in our community. I want Pathways to be filled with people who are disconnected from their Creator as well as connected people who have a passion for connecting people with their Creator. I want Pathways Church to be growing in numbers out of a vibrance for what God is doing in individual lives and our corporate community. I want the people of Pathways to be growing their pursuit of Jesus and be able to communicate to anyone who asks how they are growing. I want the people of Pathways to see themselves as missionaries to their neighborhood, workplace, and our greater community. I want God to get all of the credit for anything good that happens within our body. I want people to experience grace and freedom from religion for the first time in their lives and not be able to contain the joy and peace that comes with it. I want a map of the small groups that exist within our community to spread over Everett, Snohomish, Mill Creek, Bothell, and Lynnwood like a spiderweb. I want everyone to experience their first taste of missions in a foreign country as they get to see just how big our God really is. I want Pathways to be a community of faith, known by love and expressing a voice of hope in the world.
What would you add to this list?
Each week, we are being challenged to Conspire against the consumerism of Christmas that our culture has created. This past week, we collected reading glasses for Moses Thomas to take back to Zimbabwe. This week our challenge takes a different form – education. Bringing Moses in to talk about Christmas in Zimbabwe should bring perspective for all of us. Opening our eyes to the plight of others is crucial if we are going to pursue God’s heart and not our culture’s.
This week, our challenge is simple. I want to encourage you to visit the website for Voice of the Martyrs. It is an organization that is dedicated to assisting those who are being persecuted for their faith around the world. Voice of the Martyrs was founded in 1967 by Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, who was imprisoned 14 years in Communist Romania for his faith in Christ. His wife, Sabina, was imprisoned for three years. I first heard him speak at a chapel service at Hope International University, while I was in school. It was the first step for me to having my eyes opened to what is happening in other parts of the world.
Search through the website. Click on the “Newsroom” and “Restricted Nations” tabs at the top of the page. Begin (or continue) your education.