Last Sunday, midway though a visit with Denny and Leora's family, and Stephan and Leanne from Kentucky, we were hit with the startling news that our friend Lenia had just passed away.
The news shouldn't have come as a shock, since she had been terribly sick for several months preceding her death. Somehow, as all the memories of the time spent with her came flooding across our minds, we had perhaps believed she was going to get better. She had been to several doctors at the beginning of her illness, and none of them could tell her what was wrong. After a several weeks in the hospital, she was released because there was nothing they could do to help. Rather than return to her home, though, she went to the home of a nearby church leader. Lenia had apparently been directed in a dream to "go to the woman of God." There she laid on a thin mat on the floor of that woman's porch, slowly wasting away. Her children were no longer going to school. They were hungry. Yet she lay there, day after day, while the woman prayed over her. Lenia was almost daily calling for Barry to come, and we made many trips to also go pray. We arrived one afternoon to find the woman prostrate on the floor next to Lenia with her hands placed over her, while Lenia intermittently tossed back and forth. Over and over the woman zealously cried, "Sortie!" (The Creole word for exit, or leave)
Several brethren from the church at home saw Lenia in this state, and helped pray for her and plead with her about her spiritual state. She persisted that she had no known sin, that she was right with God, and was clueless as to why she was sick.
Barry found that it was not beneficial to stay at that woman's house, so she spent the last month of her life back at home in her own bed, while her family tried to care for her physical needs. Barry recognized her symptoms as the same things he saw the man in the mountain suffer before he died. A couple of weeks ago, a medical doctor came to her house to do some final diagnosis. Pastor Bazalet and Barry were there to hear what he had to say. The doctor's explanation for the sickness: an evil spirit. This confirmed Barry's thoughts all along.
Barry called Pastor Bazalet to set up a time the next day to pray for her deliverance. When they arrived, she was not in her right mind, showing her teeth, writhing around, and speaking jibberish. They sat Lenia on a chair and commanded the spirit to leave, in the name of Jesus. Lenia then came to her right mind, and said she had felt the spirit leave, that had tormented her for months. The next day she was even further improved.
Then, Sunday just after church, Lenia's brother came crying to bear the news. We could hear our neighbor, Lenia's sister, crying the familiar screams that are heard after a death in Haiti.
The funeral was held eight days later. Hundreds of people came, but some that were closest to her did not. Her parents stayed home, as well as her good friend, Sonson. It seemed as though the ones the most grieved by the loss were the ones to keep to themselves while they mourned silently. Extended family and friends had a more typical display, screaming, kicking, thrashing their heads, and even passing out, motionless on the floor.
The service was fairly simple and not unlike those at home, with a few songs, a short biography of Lenia's life, and at the family's request, Barry preached. It was another opportunity to preach to a lot of people who otherwise never step foot into church. When a 26 year old young woman dies, it can cause other young people to perhaps consider the brevity of their own lives.
After the service, the whole crowd followed the hearse up the hill to Lenia's home. Behind the house a large tomb already waited, built a year and a half ago for her husband, Gino. A graveside scripture completed the funeral, and the casket was carefully slid into the tomb.
Lenia's death left her children as orphans. The family says they plan to do their best to take care of them. We have hope that her deliverance allowed her to be free and die at peace with God. Barry pleased with everyone at the funeral not to let her death be in vain, and this is hour prayer as well.
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