The Value of a Soul

The days go by much too quickly when people come from home to stay with us. We were blessed to have our elders and their families here from late Thursday evening to very early Monday morning. Two days of travel time left just three full days to do all that everyone wanted to do while they were here. Despite the short visit, Barry enjoyed taking some time off to fellowship and we were both very encouraged through their time here.

Meeting the men who are working on the widows' house and visiting on the front porch.

Matching new friends

We enjoyed the fellowship and singing

together...in English! :)

Friday, Barry took the men with him to a discipleship meeting in nearby Williamson. It was a blessing that they were able to be there for one of these and later offer their feedback on how things are going at these meetings. We returned to the same church for Sunday morning services and invited some of our friends from another Williamson church to come along. It was one of the more mild services we've been to as far as the music and worship time goes, which we were glad of. After the congregational singing, our youth that were along went up to sing a few songs for the church. Although the congregation couldn't understand the words, it seemed they were blessed by the spirit of praise our young people had in singing to the Lord. Barry then brought the main message, feeling led again to share a salvation message and expressing the need to be freed from sin. It was followed by an alter call, and several people came to the front after seeing the need to get rid of sin they had been living with. Praise be to God for calling men and women to holiness!

Sunday morning service at Williamson

Saturday's plans were tossed around for some time after we waited to hear how much it had rained in the mountain and if we had time to make trip. After taking care of some errands in the morning, we decided to head out, leaving a little later than we'd typicallly like to start the long trek up to the

Stopped for a break

village. With two truckloads full of people, it was expected to take three or four hours at a slow and steady pace. When we were about two-thirds of the way to our destination, it was past lunch time and we decided to stop and have a light snack. After a half hour or so, we were packed up and on our way again. Up another hill and around a sharp left turn, we could see a small crowd gathered along the roadside about a half mile ahead of us.

A group of people along the roadside isn't uncommon, as they are often there trying to sell things, waiting on rides, or just congregating for social purposes. It didn't take long, though, to see that something different was happenning here. When our truck stopped right next to them, where we could see that a young man was lying on the ground with a bloody arm wrapped loosely in a shirt. It was apparent he had been bleeding a lot, but we had no idea how much since his shirt was covering the wound. We knew enough Creole to ask if he had been hurt by a machete, a common agricultural tool in Haiti. Barry was quick to tie a strip of the shirt tightly around his upper arm. It appeared that the bleeding had stopped. I could see that he was starting to pass out, so my first thought was to grab some water. He was still conscious enough that he guzzled like he hadn't drank in days as I poured it in his mouth. Brother Solomon prayed over him as we all asked the Lord what we should do next. There were a couple of men that looked very concerned, and their desperate countenances were enough to see that they were pleading for help.

Pulling away from the place we found the injured man

He was quickly and carefully loaded into the back of our truck, where some of his friends rode along trying to help. We turned our caravan around and headed back down to try to make the 15 mile trek to the hospital, knowing half of those miles would be at 10 or 15 miles an hour. We thought, with Barry picking up the pace, we would surely make it in time. As we bumped along the rocky trail, I was constantly turned around trying to check on him while we continued to pray inside the truck. It was only 20 or 30 minutes after we had picked him up that I noticed the faces of the man's friends change to be even more concerned. They were rubbing his face with cold water, and moments later asked us to stop the truck.

The man had stopped breathing. I was still crying out to God to save him, knowing that the chances of him ever knowing his need for Christ were slim. Barry performed CPR, but it was of no use, as he was completely depleted of blood. More crowds gathered and started shouting "Ki mouri! Ki mouri!" Which is something like, "he's dead."   They soon asked us to back up to the small village we had just come through, where they wrapped his lifeless body in the blanket he had been on in the truck and laid him back on the side of the road.

There were now many people gathered around, so it was a prime opportunity to share with them about the seriousness of death and eternity and explain that not everybody goes to heaven. We did not have Anouce with us, so only a handful of men who were sobered by the recent loss of life gathered around to hear what Barry shared through the soft-spoken Haitian we had along who was trying to translate. There were others around who carried on as if nothing unusual had happened.

When we determined we had done all we could do, we decided to continue on and head for home with heavy hearts. It's easy to say we could have done this or that differently, but God has a plan and design for all things that we don't always fully understand. This 20 year old man was out working in the field with his brother, as we understand it, and they broke out in a tussle. It started with swinging sticks at each other, but the anger escalated enough that one actually hit his brother with a machete. The strike to the arm severed his major arteries. With a wound so severe it was likely he had done most of his bleeding before we found him.

Last Saturday was a day I am certain that none of us will soon forget. It has led us all to further ponder how quickly life can end. How important it is for our hearts to be ready to stand before God! How important it is for believers to share this need with others before they take their last breath! This man never expected that when he went out to work in the fields, it would be hours later he would be coming to the end of his life.  Let us always be ready!

Realizing what just happened.

Witnessing to a group who were sobered by the loss of life.

We are thankful for God's protection while Barry is out daily doing the work he's called to do. His plate is always full; there was one week in particular that he preached at eight churches in five days. Just this evening, he called us on his way home from Port-au-Prince to tell me he may not be home for a long time, as there were riots and road blocks in Archahaie and traffic wasn't moving. The Lord is always faithful. I called him an hour later to see how things were going, and he was somehow moving right through everything. As he approached our road, people were telling him to turn back. He told them he just needs to go right here, and went ahead and made the turn. He arrived safely at home after passing through a situation that could have been quite hazardous without God watching over him. Again, thank you all for your continual prayers!