Faithfulness
This spring after returning from a trip to Haiti, I was overwhelmed and frustrated. It had been my first time practicing medicine there, and it was frustrating to say the least. How many problems could be solved simply by FOOD! How easy it should be to fix that, and how difficult it really was. The reality was, inflation has driven up the costs of food in Haiti over 300% in the last two years. The feeding program Lespwa Lavi was funding was out of food and we were out of cash. We started applying for nutrition partnerships, but just to gather all the data we needed for the applications was an astronomical task. It all felt so much bigger and heavier than me.
It was then that God whispered. He promised it was already taken care of. He told us He had already paved the way, and our kids would be fed.
When it took months to process our application to Convoy of Hope’s FeedONE program, and they were publishing a 90,000 child waiting list in Haiti, I wondered if we were on the wrong path. But God reminded me He had already taken care of it, and the next day we got a call that the food was ready for us at Convoy of Hope’s distribution center in Haiti.
Unfortunately, the next day, protests and road blocks broke out across the country of Haiti and it became impossible to travel to pick up the food. Twelve long weeks of continuous protests, shutting down schools, hospitals, markets and gas stations. While it was too dangerous for anyone to walk to their place of business, they started walking to our church. The Lespwa Lavi church, thanks to support from our home church in Bismarck, had funds to purchase food for the 150 person congregation each week. While prices continued to rise, and the church grew to over 250 people, somehow they never ran out of food. On Sunday mornings, they continue to feed hundreds of people in shifts, scooping plain spaghetti out of 5 gallon buckets that never seem to be any emptier until the last person in line has a full plate. The once a week food has saved the lives of many orphans who live on the hills around the church.
Duvelsaint passing out food at the church.
But still, I was filled with angst. We had food, plenty of food, waiting at the distribution warehouse, and we just could not get to it. The most powerful guerrilla gangs in the country had taken over the city of St. Marc, the major city nearest to us and completely blocked the only road out. Finally, just 3 days ago, our director in Haiti, Duvelsaint, called and said he had to try and get the food now or our kids were going to start dying. He and his driver agreed to risk their lives to get through St. Marc and pick up the food. But again, another obstacle. There was a riot at Convoy of Hope’s warehouse and they had to close it indefinitely. You have got to be kidding me. Lord, you said this was taken care of. You said you had the nutrition partnership taken care of, but there is a warehouse of food now that we can’t get to! After I confirmed the situation with Convoy of Hope administration – it was just too dangerous to let even one truck through – I called everyone we know and don’t know. Again. USAID. Word Food Programme. World Vision. Samaritan’s Purse. Feed My Starving Children. Hopital Albert Schweitzer. Restavek Freedom. No one had any food that we could get to. Nothing. In fact, The World Food Programme is now classifying areas of Haiti as in “a state of famine,” language that organization only uses in Somalia, Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen, countries wrought by war. A famine is defined as an acute episode of extreme hunger that results in excess mortality due to starvation or hunger-induced disease (O Grada “Making Famine History). Famine is too big of a problem for me.
Children waiting for food outside the church.
The Bible passage I can’t get out of my head is Matthew 25, the parable of the tenants. “You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” As we have built Lespwa Lavi over the past few years, the challenge for our leaders is this: are we being faithful. Are we faithfully stewarding our resources and building with integrity? I know I personally will fail, I mean, I took my kids to McDonald’s 4 times this week. And I had to buy a new belt because I literally lost my only belt in my messy house. My counterparts in Haiti however, have been faithful in the small things. Lespwa Lavi director, Duvelsaint, gives everything he has where it is needed most, and with great foresight and judgment, rations out resources where there seem to be none. He has been faithful for decades, in a country that has betrayed him and destroyed his people once again. He, and the other members of our leadership in Haiti, continue to show their worth, now more than ever. Today I realized those verses in Matthew are not about me. They are about Duvelsaint and Pastor Dony and the coaches and parents at Lespwa Lavi in Haiti. They have been faithful with a few things, and I am so incredibly excited to be a part of God’s promise to put them in charge of many things. I get to be part of bringing the blessing to Haiti. You and I, Americans, get to be the fulfillment of the promise.
So while famine is a really big problem, God does have it taken care of. Somehow, He is drawing people to His heart, and filling them so that they never hunger or thirst again. And He is faithful. Yesterday, Duvelsaint located some food for sale. It is enough to fill our kids’ bellies for another week. The only problem is, it costs more than four times the normal price. In faith we sent the money this morning, knowing it would once again strain our emergency funds. Two hours later, we were leaving church, and someone handed us a check for the exact amount we sent. He is faithful.
God is doing something. We wait with great anticipation to see how He moves in Haiti. Pray with us that the roadblocks stop and that Convoy of Hope’s distribution center is able to re-open. Please continue praying for the safety of our kids and for God’s will to be done on earth. Reach out to us if you have questions. info@lespwalavi.org.