Last night they threw rocks at 2 houses, one with a man and his wife, and another with a young mother and her two small children. The people who are stirring up trouble in the area also attacked another friend of mine, and while he managed to get away, they did hit his sister with rocks, one in the arm and one in the side.
This morning I came to meet them. They were all tired from the rough night, but they still smiled at me. The pastor gave a message on following God and trusting in His word, and then tonight they held a second service. I blew a tire on the moto on the way back out so I called to tell them I didn't know how late I'd be. I was on the National Road but I had no idea how far of a walk it would be next tire repairman. When I finally got the flat fixed and arrived at the village, I came up to the church and realized they'd all been waiting for me, over an hour.
As soon as I sat down I heard the words, "OK, so now we can begin..." I was very humbled, partly because I'd even considered just going back home, as late as it was getting.Off in the distance I saw a young woman named Andrese coming down the road in crutches. I've been giving her a ride because she can't hardly walk. I ran to get her on the moto and drove her right in.
The worship was so powerful. Here are these people, deciding to stand up for Jesus, getting pelted by their own people for it, and their enemies are all around them, literally. People they've known for years, suddenly ready to pick up stones and cause them as much harm as possible, and they are standing just beyond the church. You can hear their drums just around the corner.
And yet these faithful few continue to sing praises to Jesus, and they lift their voices. A small crowd of 30 turned into 40, then 50. I gave them the words of Jesus, " You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other. “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first."I could feel the encouragement of the Lord pass through them as they received His words.
I asked the young mother who'd had rocks thrown at her house last night if she'd be ok tonight."God will hold me." She said.
On the way home I prayed as usual, 'Lord, please keep me safe and out of harms way, bring me back to my family.' it was dark and just as I was in the middle of nowhere the chain on the moto fell off and I came to a grinding halt. I was miles from anywhere, and with the last bit of my phone battery I called Kari to let her know I'd found a bit of a predicament. Just as I was beginning to contemplate how bad things could be, a man pulled up next to me on his moto. "You doing okay?" He asked.
"Nope. I don't know anything about motos and I'm not sure how to fix this." I said. It was so dark I couldn't hardly see his face. There's no street lights in Haiti.
A few minutes of him fiddling and he had the chain back on the bike, and then asked me to follow him to his house.
"We have to tighten the chain so you can drive it." He said.
Following him down this back-country gravel road in the dark I could just make out the word written on the back of his shirt,
GRACE.
We arrived at his house and I came to find out that this man, named Louis, is a motorcycle mechanic. His home is his shop.
MY MOTO BROKE DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, HAITI, AND GOD BROUGHT ME A MOTORCYCLE MECHANIC!!How awesome is that!?
He fixed the chain and even oiled it for me, then gave me his number, telling me if I ever need help on this road to just call.I gave him everything I had in my pocket just to say thanks, and then made plans to also bring him my business from now on.
When I got home a missionary friend told me, "Feel free to call me in a situation like that." To which I can most confidently reply,
"Thank you, but God had me."
When I got home a missionary friend told me, "Feel free to call me in a situation like that." To which I can most confidently reply,
"Thank you, but God had me."
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