A Way in the Wilderness

At Lespwa Lavi, we have had our share of food miracles. Sometimes it’s been like the loaves and fishes, and sometimes like the Red Sea. And this time it was provision, strength and grit. Director Duvelsaint shares the story with you:

After several weeks of hardship, God helped us overcome our difficulties. Finally, the children are eating again at the Lespwa Lavi Academy. We give thanks to God and lift our hats to the donors, praying that God will continue to bless us.

Three years ago, we would get our food from the Mission of Hope office in Titanyen (see map provided at the end of the blog). We would leave Verrettes at 7:00 a.m. and return before 2:00 p.m. Sometimes there were problems on the road to Titanyen, but we were never caught out by 4:00 p.m. When Titanyen was blockaded by the Taliban bandit group, the office closed.

We then went through Mirebalais, but we had to pay 50,000 gourdes [$400] at the tollbooth set up by the bandits on the road to be able to reach the Airport road towards the new Mission of Hope distribution center. This journey could take us a whole day.

When this route was blocked by the Mawozo 400 gang, we always went through Mirebalais/Hinche to get to Cap Haitian. It could take two or two and a half days if it rained.

When Mirebalais was blockaded by the 400 Mawozo, Liancourt by the Baz Gran Grif gang, and L'Estère by the Kokorat San Ras gang, we could no longer get around. At that point, the residents of Verrettes built their own road through the mountains, which was very difficult even for motorcycles, but provided access to Saint-Marc. Later, more reliable vehicles began using this road.

For several weeks, we negotiated with truck drivers to find someone willing to brave the road to Cap Haitien. It took several days just to find enough fuel for the journey. On Thursday, February 5th, all arrangements were made for us to go to Cap Haitien. Unfortunately, I developed a sudden illness that prevented me from traveling. However, I did contact the Mission of Hope office in Cap Haitien. The truck left Thursday morning. Due to difficult mountain roads, it arrived in Cap Haitian after the office had already closed. Loading took place Friday morning, and the truck left Cap Haitien at 10:30 a.m. Travel was slow on terrible roads. First it had to stop at 7pm at the Marmelade crossroads, then depart Saturday morning at 7:30am. A tire failure at L'Estère meant that the truck did not arrive in Saint-Marc until Saturday at 7:40pm. Then the driver tried to take the mountain road without success. The truck was too big for the difficult road.
From Sunday until Monday morning, we were taking steps to find other vehicles to distribute the cargo and be able to take the mountain road.

On Monday at 1:29 p.m., the first vehicle arrived with 200 boxes. Around 5:00 p.m., a second arrived with 440 boxes. Around 7:00 p.m., a third arrived with 250 boxes, and finally, around 10:30 p.m., the last truck arrived with 268 boxes. What should have taken half one day took four days.

There is no deliverance without suffering.

I (Nika here) am reminded of the African proverb “When you pray, move your feet.” We prayed for a route to open up for the food, and the people built their own road. It’s a miracle for anyone to get through Saint Marc only. It’s a miracle the gangs accepted the toll in L’Estere for a truck loaded with about $100,000 worth of food. It’s a miracle the truck was not robbed while boxes were loaded onto smaller trucks. It’s a miracle our truck driver completed the mission with integrity, despite Duvelsaint’s absence.

Thank you to all who prayed with us! You’re not going to believe it, but we’re going back to Cap Haitien - don’t miss this update: MUSTARD SEED