AN INCREDIBLE DAY in the HISTORY OF HAITI
-by Jerry Miel (Feb 17).
I think that I will remember this day as one of the most significant
in my life, not because of what I did, but for it's meaning...
Today was the one month anniversary of the great Haitian earthquake.
About 3 days ago the Haitian President announced that there
would be 3 days of holiday from work for the purpose of fasting
and prayer. This is absolutely historic. If you have ever been in
Haiti as a visitor or missionary, could you ever have imagined
such a pronouncement? Could you image such an announcement
from the U.S. President? This morning I saw a young Haitian-
American woman, the leader of a work team, crying because the
Americans could not understand the incredible importance of this
day and wanted to go about business as usual. Remember, it was
only about 6 years ago that a former Haitian president called the
nation to come together to rededicate the nation to Satan.
This was not "a minute of silence for the deceased" or something
as equally insignificant. Whatever the President might have
originally intended, this became a real commitment for the Haitian
people. As I sit here this evening, I can hear the preaching coming
from a nearby church. Services have been going on all day...
Let me tell you what I saw and felt today.
Peniel and I had planned an inspection trip up to the Artibonite
Valley today. Right or wrong, I don't really know, but since it was
the only opportunity, we went ahead with the trip. As we left the
guest house about 7:30 am, we were met by throngs of well
dressed people headed to various churches. The sounds of
Christian music and worship filled the air everywhere. The next
observation was that there was NO traffic. Port-au-Prince streets
are always clogged and overflowing with bumper to bumper traffic.
This morning there were only a few vehicles on the roads, a few
small buses (tap taps), some UN and military vehicles, and a few
private cars. We had clear sailing through town. The same was
true of foot traffic. Usually the streets are clogged also with
people walking. Today there were only a few and many of them
dressed for church. The only place that there were traffic blocks
was in front of several churches where the congregations had
overflowed the buildings and the yards and had moved out into
the streets as well.
The next observation was that EVERYTHING was closed! We
could not find even one business or gas station open. There were
no intercity buses running. Whereas the sidewalks are usually
overflowing with millions of street venders, we only saw a few here
and there. The huge outdoor market near the wharf where
thousands work each day and is spread out to cover most of the
street, was EMPTY.
Where were all the people? They were in churches and makeshift
meeting sites. Every church (except a JW church) had services
going on, almost always overflowing into the streets. Beside
broken down churches, services were taking place outside. In
homeless camps, there were services. Everywhere the nation was
gathered to worship and pray. No, I did not see any voodoo,
Islamic, or Buddhist services. This scene was repeated in every
town and hamlet that we passed during the day.
Tonight, Pastor Ignace, who is sharing the room with me, asked
this question: "Can people still say that Haiti is a voodoo country?"
What has been happening and is continuing to happen in Haiti did
not happen because of the earthquake. It has been happening
because the Haitian people know how to pray. This is a tremendous
outpouring of God's power as the result of prayer. Twenty years
ago I started praying for the Gospel to change the Haitian culture.
I think that I am seeing God do that work.
The only sadness that I feel today is for our nation. While a nation
that has long been under Satan's domination is turning to God
with total commitment, our nation, founded on Godly values has
rejected God and is rapidly trying to forget that his name even
exists. Let us pray for revival.
4-MIN VIDEO of HAITI DAYS of PRAYER-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30rWm84z-zg
God bless you all!
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