Resurrection Sunday! He lives!

Because of a deeper understanding of the truth, reality and hope of the resurrection (thanks to our pastors for getting us to read NT Wright's "Surprised by Hope"), we are so grateful for that as we have worshipped Jesus here in Haiti this Easter. This truth and hope is THE ONE THING which binds us together as believers all over the world! Christ in us, our Hope of glory! It is this truth which sets us free from the things that keep us enslaved here on earth. It is this truth which gives us light in the darkness. It is this truth which conquers death, gives us life eternal and gives us hope as we await the resurrection of OUR bodies. Because of Jesus, we are one with Him, our brother, in the resurrection.

There are a couple of stories we want to journal because they're just good to get down. Remember the town Chris was in a couple of days ago - Karfouje'? Well, that same afternoon after we left, a murder happened right in front of the church we were at. When the earthquake happened, you'll remember reading about the prisons falling in and prisoners fleeing. Well, many of these prisoners fled into the countryside. One of those prisoners was hiding out in Karfouje' along with another very evil man - an albino man who had already committed acts of violence. Some altercation took place, one of the men put his girlfriend in front of him to shield himself and the other man shot a gun. The bullet went through her and then to the other man. They were both killed. The people are so afraid because that murderer is hiding out in their village. Such fear and so little security in these places.

The other story is related to a question I asked of a pastor down here after we had prayed for a barren pastor and his wife to have a child. I asked, "why don't Haitian couples adopt the Haitian orphans?" He said something about wanting a child of their womb and how important that is to them. Later, I talked to Fred, our Canadian friend who is with us here, and he said it is very cultural to want a child of their blood. Typically, if they must take a Haitian orphan in to care for - a relative or someone else - that child will become a slave to that family. It is a pervasive evil that takes place. From their earliest days as a child, they serve the family that takes care of them. There is a book called Restavec which tells the story of a man who was raised like this. It's recommended reading for those who come to Haiti.

Our Easter church service in a nutshell:

Began at 8:30 - we crowded into a small wooden pew where our backs and knees were touching either people or wood at the same time. And all the way through, 2 little girls in front of us, turned around and held Chris' hands and rubbed her arms thru the whole service. (see picture) See below the list of service items - not in this order!

3 choirs

3 offerings - men, women and the poor

1 drama

2 baby dedications

4 junior members brought into the church (those under age 16)

16 full members brought into the church, all requiring a handshake from every member of the congregation (300+ people)

congregational singing all the way through

communion

sermon

...and the blancs (us) had to go up front and speak greetings - Chris delivering a small Easter message thru an interpreter and Greg saying 3 words: Bon Jour, Merci Seignour (no interpreter!)

Over at 11:50

Chris was blessed to have on her right side, a young lady named Chemelda who borrowed a Creole hymnbook so she could sing along with her. This story is a great way to get ready to start winding down this blog. Chemelda is from Dessalines but was in Port-au-Prince going to school at the time of the earthquake. Greg has been working with her brother-in-law, Wilson, the maintenance man at the hospital. She had taken a test twice at her school and failed it both times. She was feeling quite gloomy about this fact and was sitting up on the roof of the FOHO building, reading or something. The quake started and she had the guidance of the Lord to jump from that roof (which collapsed and killed four people) onto the roof of the old FOHO building which did not collapse. When that roof was shaking, she then jumped off that onto the top of a car. She made her way back to Dessalines. Today, we watched Chemelda praise the Lord in worship. She KNOWS God spared her life, not only because of her life being spared there, but also because she was supposed to be in school that afternoon, and because of the test failure, was not. The school collapsed and killed the students. She could've died there, too. Perhaps the resurrection has new meaning for Chemelda this Easter.