Climbing up the mountain from Port au Prince to Carre four Feuilles (pronounced Car Foo Fey) one might walk over most any kind of filthy debris. Dead animals, raw sewage, household garbage and unbelievable stinking trash. A landfill in the States in July is the closest I can come to telling you about the stench which permeates the air that assaults your nose as you arrive in Haiti. The smell only grows stronger and more vile as you travel to the poor neighborhood where we serve. Strangely enough after many trips you begin to associate the odor with being back in Haiti with those you love and your aversion for the uncomfortable smell ceases! After all you are anxious to be with your friends and this is their life everyday! It is hard for us to comprehend the horrible living conditions in the land called Haiti but once we think things through we can begin to understand. Over two hundred years ago the African Slaves overthrew the French Owners and in their frenzy of anger and frustration donated and dedicated the small island of Haiti to satan. After two hundred years of serving the prince of darkness, in the early 2000’s they once again rededicated the island to satan. During the rein of President Aristide, the worship of the devil known as Voodoo, was made the official national religion. So for us the question is how could this spiritually dark land not be filled to overflowing with filth, disease, poverty and pestilence? How could anyplace owned by satan and filled with people worshiping him not be rotted to the very core?

As we climb up the mountain, if we look skyward we see the sad excuse for power lines which transmit the few hours of electricity most families in Haiti have each day. The lines look as if someone has taken extension cords and spliced them together with duct tape or just wound them together trusting that the weak power can go to the homes which dot the mountainside. Sometimes for days there is no power at all, other times near dusk the power will come on and you can hear the shouts of joy singing across the hills. And for a few hours there is a fan to cool from the constant intense heat or a hot iron for someone to iron clothing or a light for those who can, to read. The majority of the people of Haiti do not grumble or seem to feel deprived with this situation, because it is just their life!

Haiti is not only a land of deprivation and poverty, it is a land of ignorance. The estimates are that 70% of the people in this dark land cannot read or write their names. It is very difficult for those who are illiterate to have any wisdom when it comes to electing political leaders, choosing spiritual leaders or making wise decision about their everyday life. Education teaches us to think and to have logical thinking skills, for the ignorant instant gratification is their life. They certainly live in the now and sadly to say that now is full of hunger, pain and despair! Children roam the streets, barely clothed, dirty, hungry with few in a position to provide any help for their desperate situation. Parents are in constant emotional pain because they cannot provide even a meager meal for their children, much less medical care. But strangely enough having a family is a most important part of the Haitian culture. Most seem to love their children and take great pride in having a large number of children, even though 10 out of every 100 die in birth or early infancy. In fact it is the Haitian custom to not name their children until they reach the age of one year and they can began to “hope” that the child will be able to survive.

One of the biggest hurdles the people of Haiti have to overcome is the superstitious nature they brought with them from Africa. They are very aware of the spiritual warfare going on around them. They believe in spells, hexes and curses which are all a major part of the Voodoo religion. Even those who have become Christians still are frightened of the power that those who have not chosen Christ have over them. I spend much time telling our Christian friends and family in Haiti that we serve a God who is bigger then all these curses, hexes and evil spells of the wicked people who worship and serve satan.

I have painted a bleak reality of the land of Haiti for you last month and with this report. There were several reasons I chose to write these informational pieces at this time. First of all we have been blessed with the partnership of New Life Christian Church of Douglasville, Georgia and their membership who have opened their hearts to help the children of Haiti. Second at this time of year, as we approach our holiday of Thanksgiving I feel we all need to stop and take a few minutes to reflect on how blessed we are, not just in the large things but in all the small things we seldom consider. But most of all I want you to be encouraged because there is hope for Haiti. Hope will not come in political change, even though this must come! Hope will not come when the country has been educated, though this is an urgent need! Hope will not come in social services providing food and medicine although Christ commissioned us to love and care enough to provide for the neglected children of Haiti! The only true hope for Haiti is Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives.

A Voice in the Wilderness has been blessed over the years to feed hungry children. We have been blessed to educate ignorant children with the schools and adults with our literacy programs. We have been blessed to provide school supplies, clothing, shoes and much needed vitamins and medicine. But the most important gift we have given to these people is Jesus! We have shipped thousands of tracts, thousands of Bibles in Haitian Creole, musical instruments, generators and financial donations. The door to door evangelism continues. The mission trips where thousand have heard the “word” and accepted Christ continue. And for those whose lives have been touched by the Holy Spirit and now have a changed life with Jesus at the center there is more than hope, there is a certainty of a better life to come!