Traveling Trials

Nobody ever said getting around Haiti was easy. There seems to be a recurrent theme lately as the team continues to take the Gospel in every direction. They've been bruised, battered, and a bit shaken, but always protected by a powerful God who carries them through every trial they face.

An early morning departure for Miragoane should have had them all back home in the afternoon after preaching at another new church. On the return trip, less than twenty minutes from our house, a group of unruly citizens had a different idea. Without warning the truck was surrounded by a rowdy group of men, all hollering and shouting orders. Barry thought they were trying to rob him, but when one of them reached through the passenger side window, grabbed the keys from the ignition, and took off, he soon realized what was happening. The truck was being used to start a roadblock on busy Highway 1.

If there is a disagreement on an issue, be it political or otherwise, it leads to crime and violence as the upset party takes to roadblocking and rioting in attempts to get their point across. Vehicles are set aflame, fights break out, and often lives are lost with no remorse from the instigators. And now the team found themselves sitting right in the midst of all this starting, with no way out.

I don't know all the details of what went on while they sat there, but it became evident that there was a guardian angel around them that afternoon. After six hours of sitting in a situation that grew continually more dangerous, a man somehow came running with the truck keys and told them to get out of there immediately. We were very thankful to see Barry return to our house late in the evening.

The view from the truck; vehicles backed up for miles

On one less action-packed trip, they drove to Cap Haitian, at the northern tip of Haiti, to preach at an evening service. They stayed the night, then preached again in the morning before heading back home. This was Barry's first overnight trip without the family along, and a good first hand experience of staying in a common Haitian home. There were cobwebs surrounding him while he slept, and only one "toilet" that sat out in the open for an unknown number of people to use. He was thankful for the old pull-out couch that he slept on, and that the night was basically free of rats and other critters that like to venture inside Haitian homes.

Last Sunday they made a trip deep into the mountains, where Brother Nate and others have been working, on the motorcycles. Right from the start it had its challenges. They had just departed and were still on the blacktop when Barry heard Peter, riding on the dirt bike with him, give a startled gasp. He stammered while he tried to relay that Pastor Bazalet had just wrecked the motor cycle behind them. He was badly scraped and bruised but didn't seem to have any broken bones. He opted not to go to the hospital, but rather went home where he spent the next several days recovering.

Police soon arrived in an armored vehicle to monitor the scene

Pastor Bazalet suffered some painful swelling and roadrash, but thankfully was not seriously hurt!

After finding another driver, the rest of the team pressed on. Maneuvering the bikes up the rugged
mountain road was more difficult that they had first anticipated, but they eventually made it there and had a blessed service.

Before leaving our house, Barry had mentioned something about maybe being back before noon.
Twelve o'clock came and went, and I noticed he wasn't receiving my text messages. Soon it was 4:00, then 5:00, and I couldn't get through to his phone. By 6:30 it was quickly getting dark, and heavy winds were picking up, bringing a big storm with them. I still couldn't get through to his phone, so I
assumed it had died. After the downpour started, it was completely dark out, and still no team. Finally
I heard a motorcycle outside the gate. Peter's long arm reached over to unlatch it. He had left with
Barry, but came back with another driver on a different motorcycle. "Where is Barry?" I asked, assuming he was coming close behind.

"He take Josnel to Titanyen." That meant Barry and Josnel were still out on the dirt bike in the dark, with strong winds and a heavy downpour, driving along the most dangerous road I've ever been on. The boys and I sat at the supper table and prayed for Daddy to make it home.... And finally at almost 8:00, the gate slid open again and a bike came in, this time with Barry on it. He was drenched from head to toe and came in limping. After wrecks, flat tires, strained ankles, and the like, they all made it back home. It was a struggle, but all worth it for the work of the Gospel, he told us later.

This week's Sunday service took us an hour into the mountains to a small church in a beautiful setting. A cool breeze blew through as we heard the message about truly believing in Jesus.  It was a blessing to be among this group while we worshipped the Creator, without walls and surrounded by the beautiful creation.

More Behind the Scenes 

Along the dirt lane we live on, just off the blacktop, almost daily there sits a man in a wheelchair. He survives by asking for money and barely scraping by with enough to eat.  One day, he asked if we could build him a small house. After much prayer, Barry decided it was the right thing to do. The usual work crew is busy this week putting up a one-room home for him that should be done soon.

Just behind us in the widows' new home, Alice is still with us, but quite weak and frail. She was sick and really not doing well for a time, so the young men from the neighborhood started on a Saturday evening digging her grave.  Right behind her house where she could surely hear every scoop of the shovel, they picked away at it. Apparently it's common to make an event out of such an activity, so they all passed around a whiskey bottle and carried on well into the night. The grave eventually got dug, and now the open hole is there just waiting to fulfill its purpose.

As each day passes, we are made more aware of the severity of the work that has been set before us. Death here is common and frequent, however for most, a false hope has them believing they're ok. Please pray that God can help us to relay the Gospel of peace to the needy souls in this country.