Haiti Update: Giants and Mountains, the president's assassination

“Why should I worry when giants come calling my name?”

Has God ever failed? Has there ever been a promise He has not fulfilled – greater, bigger, more wholly than imagined?

For many years, at key moments in my life, the Lord has given me a song. Most often I did not understand the meaning of the song at the time, only that it was going to be significant for something I was about to walk through. I first heard the song “Speak to the Mountains” by Chris McClarney on July 2nd on the radio, and immediately I felt that prompting little voice in my heart, “that’s it, that’s the song, download it now.” (By the way, I hadn’t turned my car radio on in about 4 years – I’m usually either listening to my own music or my very loud 4 young boys in the backseat.) The song made me think of Haiti right away, and it is a great song about having faith to overcome obstacles, based on Jesus words about faith the size of a mustard seed moving mountains. I wondered what exactly God meant with this song, at this time.

Five days later on July 7th, we woke up to the news that Haiti’s president, Jovenel Moise, had been assassinated. This act comes on the heels of two of the most dangerous, violent years in Haiti’s history. While the exact details of the assassination are evolving, obviously it only adds to the instability of an already frail government. Rumors abound, and we may never know the whole truth about President Moise or his death, but regardless, here we are. It looks bad. Many are calling the situation unprecedented, Haiti’s darkest hour. There is no human solution in sight.

Well, we already know the solution. For one thing, whether Haiti’s political/economical/social problems are ever fixed, they are temporary. This earth is temporary. The solution is through Jesus. He is hope and He brings revolutionary, unimaginable change. Second, we believe that an educated populace is necessary for a functioning democracy, and Haiti suffers from a shameful lack of literacy. Remember only 48% of women can even read, and less than 1% in rural Haiti graduate from high school. Men fare marginally better. Investing in education creates the foundation for a better future and inspires young Haitians to change their own country.

What does the assassination mean for Lespwa Lavi?

At the moment, the president’s death doesn’t change a thing for us. Our staff in Haiti have already been working in very difficult, sometimes dangerous situations, and as of today there has been no increase in the danger they face on a day to day basis in Verrettes. Our children’s nutrition program is well-supplied with food for at least 3 months, and our church continues to meet as safely as possible. The kids are on summer break from school right now, so there is a lot of uncertainty about how classes will resume in September, both because of the assassination and the increase in COVID-19 cases in Haiti.

As the political situation continues to unfold, however, we anticipate widespread gang violence will continue longer than any of us hoped. We worry about the kids, growing up in an environment where they experience trauma after trauma and exist in survival mode, they need the comfort of Father God.

That morning of July 7th, Ricardo and I sat down and we both said that we felt like we should panic, but we weren’t. We felt like we should be devastated, frantically making calls and DOING something, but to be quite honest, it felt like this horrific event paled in comparison to God’s perfect control. We’ve already witnessed the impossible. When He promised us land in Verrettes, he prompted the hearts of many to give it. When He promised us food and security for the kids, He made a truck invisible on a highway full of robbers. When the farmers in Verrettes were in danger of losing their harvest this year, He made it rain during our Christmas worship service, and countless other miracles in between. The thousands of small impossibilities that happen every day. Storms have come, but God is faithful to his promises. His care in even giving me a song as a promise that week is so profound.

We are praising God for increasing our faith these last 2 years. We feel such peace. Although it’s certainly a very dark time for Haiti and chaos seems to be the rule, all Ricardo and I can think is, “ok God, how are you going to reveal yourself through this? What do you have planned?” So many thousands of people are suffering and will suffer in a country that’s seen enough….even Haiti’s few politically educated don’t see a way out of this unprecedented situation. But “we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day….So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. “ (2 Cor. 4:16, 18 – read the whole chapter, it’s so fitting for today)

Where God is there is hope and truth. God has brought hope to a city called Verrettes. There are 300 children who have caught a glimpse of something more. Something greater than the darkness. A security and belonging to a God who knows them by name and has called them to a greater purpose.

So what are we planning to do? By faith we have just purchased 50 more meals per day from Convoy of Hope, so that we can increase our feeding program by 50 kids this fall. By faith we loaded 387 new sponsorship profiles onto our website, waiting for a sponsor to choose one. By faith we are preparing to launch a second clean water initiative. By faith we approved an outreach budget for the church in Verrettes to minister to thousands. By faith we are planning short term teams for 2022. By faith we press on, knowing God has promised hope for Haiti, life for its people, and life to the full.

What can you do? If you sponsor a child, please write them a letter. They are scared. Let them know they need not be, God loves them and cares for them. Let them know their food will not run out. Their sponsor will not leave. They have a place and one who loves them. Then pray with us. Let us know what God speaks. Tell us you are joining us in prayer. Send a word of encouragement for our staff in Haiti. And wait to see what God does….

I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, `Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.

“So I’ll speak to the mountains
It’s time to move
Cause my God is bigger, better, stronger, greater than you”

Nika Pierre-Louis