A thin, dirty hand reached through Barry's window and over to my side. His eyes were dark and hurting under his ragged dreadlocks and rainbow striped knit hat. "Mama" he pleaded as his open palm nearly skimmed my cheek. We were parked on a street in Port-au-Prince with vehicle problems, and this was one of the many encounters with different people in one evening out with just the two of us. We had our first appointment with a Nurse Midwife about an hour or two drive from the mission house. Getting there was a whole story in itself. Katie volunteered to keep the children at home for us while Barry and I made the drive to the late afternoon appointment. On the way there, we had to stop and buy pig feed from the place Barry regularly gets it from. The same man he usually talks to was behind the counter to take his order, but after making his way through the long line that always gets longer if one doesn't hold his ground, there was some trouble communicating. The brand of feed he always gets is called "Gwo Kochon" (big pig.). They make two different feeds, one for adult pigs and one for small feeder pigs. For some reason, this particular day, the man couldn't understand when we said we needed Gwo Kochon for small pigs, but eventually the message came through and we were on our way back outside for the bags to be loaded.
Forty five minutes after arrivng, we were on our way to the appointment again with less than half hour to make it all the way across town in backed-up traffic. We ended up being 45 minutes late, after we finally found the right place. The visit went well and we were on our way to the nice grocery store on that far side of Port-au-Prince. We didn't get far, however, due to vehicle troubles that kept us from driving anywhere. After several hours in and out of dark alleys, encounters with a few drunks and lunatics, and finally getting the problem fixed along a busy roadway, I felt like I experienced a small bit of what Barry goes through all the time. When we made it to the Carribean store shortly after 8:00, they were just closing the gates, and our long awaited supper would have to wait a bit longer. How glad we were to make it home to the children that night!
Stuck in the canal a few minutes from home.
There's never a dull day at the mission, whether from our own busy family life or from outside excitement. The biggest challenge over the last couple of weeks have been the individual meetings with everyone that's been regularly attending church. It hasn't been a particularly enjoyable task, but one that's necessary. The last thing we want to do is to be another church on the block that allows everyone to continue in their sin, and carry on as if there's no danger there.
The most prevalent issue seems to be so many couples living in fornication, since this has become such an accepted cultural practice in this country. There are some family units, as well as a few mothers with young children, who have expressed a desire to sincerely live a holy life. One young couple with a two year old son has committed to go on from here in a pure relationship, with marriage in their sights after they know they're winning the victory and are both converted to Christ.
Juline, a young mother who was one of the very first to start attending, has proclaimed her sincerity in wanting to walk uprightly. She has apparently separated from her baby's father and is no longer living with him. That was encouraging to hear! Several months ago, about a month after the church was opened, she said she was ready to turn her life around. We are really seeing the fruits of that commitment now. She still has some personal struggles, but she has asked several times that the pastors be patient with her, because "you don't understand how wicked I was," she explains.
Some meetings, however, were not so encouraging. There were some who have declared that they can't break free from their current relationship(s) and live without fornication. Some of have chosen to stop coming until they are ready to be committed, Lord willing, at a later time. This church, as stated many times, is going to be more than a Sunday morning clubhouse.
These are just a few examples of the outcomes of the meetings, but hopefully it gives you an idea of what Barry is working with and perhaps what to pray for. It seems to be that with the very old and the very young, a complete lack of knowledge of biblical principles creates a challenge. In my last post, I mentioned going to the market to buy material to start making dresses for the church ladies. Several have been made now, and there are still more to make just to get the first dress to all those who have asked. I'm so thankful for Katie's help with all the sewing to be done!
Along with the task of shepherding the little stick church, the team continues to do some traveling, but they've narrowed down the focus to nine groups that seem to have a desire to learn and change. They'll meet regularly with these groups as long as they see evidence of a desire to learn. Some of the questions that are asked at the evening Bible studies are almost astounding. Just for example, one woman was wanting to know how God felt about living in blatant adultery because her husband was already doing it first.
Today we're in Port-au-Prince again. After getting a bite to eat and dropping Katie off at the airport to go home for her brother's wedding, we headed downtown. This is probably my absolute least favorite place in Haiti to go, but we know the Lord is with us everywhere. This is definitely a man's place to be. Block after block of filthy, run down concrete buildings are used auto parts stores. The streets are always packed full of people and traffic, but only about one in fifty is a female. It seems at that rate they only come through to sell something. For some of them, the service they offer is their own body. . An older lady is a regular and comes through with a pitcher full of freshly made juice from real fruits and vegetables. She sells hundreds of them. We're thankful to at least be sitting in the shade inside the truck, although the temperature is still high enough to cause pools of sweat to run. By the time we're done, we'll hopefully have the truck's air conditioner up and running again. From all appearances of the crowd gathered around the hood of the truck, it shouldn't take long. :) "If you ever feel like you're running out of patience," Barry says, "come to this part of the country." Thankfully, the littlest missionaries are using the opportunity to pass out Gospel tracts and practice their Creole while telling people "Ou bezwen sa!" "Ou bezwen li sa. Li pou Ou! " (You need this! You need to read this! It's for you!)
