Prayer is powerful
When I arrived in Haiti last month, Steeve told me Pastor Danjour wanted to come pray with me.
As each day went by, Steeve told me the pastor wanted to come, but because of where he lives in relation to where I stay, travel was not easy. But on the morning I was preparing to leave, I was surprised when Steeve told me, “Pastor Danjour is here.”
We sat together - me, Pastor Danjour, Vorb, and Steeve - and the pastor blessed me with his words. Then, acknowledging all we needed to accomplish that morning, he cut the conversation short and began to pray.
His prayer reminded me of this Scripture:
“Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you . . . Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”
I have found it to be incredibly humbling in recent months to have people pray over me with regards to my health. I’ve also found it to be incredibly reassuring because when someone like Pastor Danjour prays, it’s easy to believe his petition to the Father will be heard.
My short trip to Haiti came to a close that day, and what better way to end the trip than by being covered in prayer by the very people on whose behalf I plead with the Father daily.
How thankful I am to know and love Haiti.
Sunday was a gift
Saturday night before bedtime prayers, I asked Handy, “Do you have your clothes ready for church tomorrow?” to which he replied, “Frè Steeve told me to wear jeans and a t-shirt to church tomorrow.”
Me: “Do you have them?”
Handy: “I have my jeans.”
Me: “Handy, you have so many shirts. Why haven’t you chosen a shirt?”
Handy: . . .
Sunday morning when I walked into church, I understood.
The majority of people at church were wearing t-shirts, shirts welcoming me back and wishing me good health. I even received a bouquet of fresh flowers as a gift.
Here are just a few photos we took afterwards.
But this surprise, as big as it was, wasn’t the only surprise on Sunday.
Later in the afternoon, Steeve had invited me to attend one of the church’s community groups. He had told me there was no obligation, but I was welcome. Of course, I went, but I didn’t find a community group when I got there. Instead this happened.
I wept for the next 20 minutes. I couldn’t stop the tears. How blessed am I to know this amazing community of people and to be loved and accepted by them?
Soon I will share one last story from this most recent trip to Haiti, and in many ways, what happened on Monday morning, tied the entire trip, this entire story, together.
How was Haiti?
I saw a friend at the beach this morning.
“So did you make it to Haiti?” Pete asked.
I have gotten variations of this question from a number of people since I’ve been home, and I am having a hard time articulating the wide range of emotions and experiences I had while I was there.
Therefore, I think I am going to take my time in sharing, and methodically share different experiences at different times over the next week or so.
To start, I’ll talk about the day I traveled down. Air travel has become so unreliable. I had tried to mentally prepare myself for “worst case scenario” as I was flying through Miami, knowing MIA has not had a normal operating day in over a month. But there were absolutely no issues with my air travel, and friends crossed my path!
John and I were together on my last flight out of Haiti back in March.
It seemed right to see each other on my first trip back - even if we weren’t on the same flight.
Favorite gate agent and favorite flight attendant
These two were there when I boarded that last flight to Haiti in March. They tried to comfort me through my tears. This time it was all smiles!
Port-au-Prince.
Knowing Manman Mari has changed the entire airport experience, and I’m glad he’s our friend.
The rest of the day was spent at home - and there’s no better place to be in Haiti.
That’s all for now, but there is so much more to share later. Stay tuned. What a weekend!