When I imagined Haiti, I imagined a desert land. I didn’t imagine beautiful green mountains being the back drop of nearly every view, nor did I imagine seeing the sunset over the ocean every evening. And while I’d heard about the voodoo here, I didn’t imagine I would HEAR the voodoo in the middle of every night or pass a voodoo temple nearly every day! I know, I know, you’re asking if I’ve ever heard of Google Earth, or Wikapedia, or seen a map for goodness sake!?
I’m the team leader, I research the important stuff who we’re working with, where we’re staying, currency exchange rates, safety issues, language stuff, transportation logistics, how close the nearest hospital is, and of course the availability of internet, nearest beach, and possibility of AC & indoor plumbing, but I don’t GOOGLE it! And sometimes I wish my team wouldn’t either! But oh do they! They know every disease, kidnapping, horrific event, and possible natural disaster we may face. One time a team member argued with me that he was sure we were at the wrong hotel because when he had used Google Earth to see it the roof was green and this hotel did NOT have a green roof! (Shaking my head!)
I’m not sure it’s a real concentrated effort that I don’t Google, it could be that my computer instinctively goes to Facebook or Jon Acuff’s Blog when I turn it on. I mean I know everything I read on the internet is true, but let’s face it, if I had known before I came that Haiti has rats the size of possums and that I would see them with my very own eyes just feet away from where I lay my head to rest every night, I would have feigned illness and another team leader would have had to have been brought in! Me and the 3rd world, we’re on a need to know basis!!
Wow! I got way off track… like I said I didn’t imagine the big green mountains. One night, my co leader, Becca Jantz to name names, did us the favor of taking us to her secret spot on the Mission of Hope compound where we stay. It happens to be a concrete slab half way up the side of a mountain, between where the water truck comes every day, the windmill, and the neighboring village. We went up at night, she had us turn off our flashlights and just listen in silence. We soaked it in, the part of mission of hope we stay in is literally like grand central station! It’s beside the kitchen, where the Haitian ladies like to SCREAM at each other (especially around 5am), where the loud American teams like to congregate at night, where the goats evidently try to kill each other, and sometimes packs of dogs like to come in, it’s beside the basketball court where very former athletes like to relive their glory days which involves a lot of grunting, yelling, and trips down the hill to the clinic! Oh and it's in the middle of an orphanage of Haitian children! It’s NEVER quiet! We got to the top and our devo time was to just be still! Best devo we’ve had, I think!
There was a breeze, no noise, you could hear the waves crashing, and see the lights of Port au Prince a good 20 miles away in the distance. When the silence broke, our youngest team member made a profound observation, what if everyone had a light? This whole place would be lit up! What she was referring to is one, most Haitians don’t have any sort of electricity (even Mission of Hope where we stay only has it about 2/3 of the time), AND she was referring to the fact that all along the dark mountain where we were sitting there were thousands of Haitian homes! We pass them everyday, but the ONLY lights we could see were from Port au Prince and from one lone fire in a neighboring village!
It hit me hard. It’s dark here! Voodoo, hopelessness, disease, destruction, poverty, it’s pitch black and when it’s THIS dark you think A LOT about light!
Verses about light trampled thru my mind…. God said, "Let there be light!" and there was light and He saw that the light was good! The Lord turns my darkness into light. Let the light of Your face shine upon us Lord. The commands of the Lord are radiant giving light to the eyes. The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? He wraps Himself in Light and darkness tries to hide. I am the light of the world, whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. No wonder Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
All I could think about was… THIS City on a Hill…enshrouded by darkness. And all the people living on that hill in the pitch black dark that doesn’t end at day break!!
I began to wonder would happen if every home on that hill, had a light, I could nearly hear children singing, "This lil light of mine!" I mean seriously if every home on these hills had a light the nightfall would be obliterated, there are THAT many people, there are THAT many homes, it’s THAT dark! More than food, medicine, clothes, and shoes, Haiti needs exposure to The Light!!! In providing the former, we accomplish the latter, one child at a time!
When you pray for Haiti, pray for LIGHT. Pray that one heart at a time, one home at a time, one village at a time, that the lights would come on! That darkness would have to flee. A lamp unto their feet, a light unto their path. That blind eyes would see. Illuminate the path of the lost so they can clearly see the way to You! Let there be light, for Haiti!
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