Haiti Missions Trip

Haiti Missions Trip

Thursday:  Left  Miami at 8:30, and arrived in Port  Au Prince at 10:15 and took a small plane to Cap-Haitien.  Six seats per side front to back.  Twelve altogether.  I didn’t know there were so many pot holes in the air.  It was a very bumpy, twisting and plunging ride.  The lady next to me put her head down and prayed the entire half hour flight.  I thought I was on a roller coaster.  Arrived in Cap-Haitien and was met by Pastor Andrew and our driver for the visit.  We found our way through the maze of chaotic traffic and people and small roads – really only alleys – to Pastor Andrew’s house.  Went to the local American hotel restaurant for something to eat.  I did not eat the goat special as did Pastor Andrew, his administrator, Methilus, and our driver.  Back to Pastor Andrew’s house for a brief rest before going to area wide crusade in the middle of the city.  We did not get started much before 8PM because there were problems with the lights and the sound system which were operated by a small generator which kept on cutting off.  The square filled with people as the singing started and continued for well over an hour before I spoke.  I did not speak for a long time, but it was well received.  Went back to Pastor Andrew’s house and I slept on the roof of his house.  Slept well.

Friday:  On the road at 7:30 to visit two churches who were expecting us.  The first was in Dupre, about an hour from Cap-Haitien.  The roads were worse than any I had seen in the USA.  Dirt and gravel with major holes in them and deep ditches on both sides.  Many goats feeding in the road and along the ditches.  There were many people walking down the road carrying there baskets of produce on their heads to sell in the city to make a few dollars for the day .  Many had started walking at 2 or 3 AM to get to the city by the start of business.  We reached Dupre around 9:15 and the church was singing.  Their service started at 8 and was getting really motivated by the time we arrived.  I spoke there for several minutes and then the singing continued.  Below are a few pictures and a short video.

          

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xnwK4rLo8s

We left Dupre and drove for another hour along an even more horrible road until we reach Robillard.  Just before we reached the church we crossed a small gulley about 5 feet deep that water flowing through it.  We stopped within 30 feet after crossing it, and I asked why we stopped.  We had reached the church.  Here’s what I saw.

           

            Again there was singing and a lot of happy people.  Watch the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=illd64ekd9Q

Again I preached a short message that when translated by Pastor Andrew was well received and Amen’d loudly and often.  More singing and a solo that I recognized.  Not the words, but the tune.   Farther Along.   A great old gospel song.  We headed back and when we got to the Dupre church around 12:30 or past, they were still there singing with double the amount of people than when we were there.  We stopped briefly to speak with the pastor.  Then back to Cap-Haitien over the same pot holes and cracks and crevices that call themselves a road.  Then to the hotel again for a meal of fish creole style.  Quite good.  After the long road trip and preaching we were exhausted so Pastor Andrew decided that the crusade would be too much for one day, so we rested for the night. That night on the roof as we were talking, I had an idea.  I realized that not one of the pastors there have any kind of training.  In fact they do not even have a high school education, most of them only sixth grade.  The most educated one has an eleventh grade education.  I asked Pastor Andrew what he thought of beginning a Bible Institute in order to teach the pastors and leaders the Bible.  Not one of them know the Bible.  They know the very basic of Biblical principles, but that is all.  They spend most of their time shouting “Mesi Jezi.”  “Thank  You Jesus” and “Halellujah.”  They are not really preaching, for preaching, by definition, is explaining a passage of Scripture.  How can they explain what they don’t understand themselves?  Pastor Andrew just about fell out of his chair.  He loved the idea.  

Saturday:  The pastors and church leaders for four churches, including the two we had visited Friday, gathered at 8 AM for a conference on leadership.  With few exceptions, Haitian churches do not even understand the concept of leadership.  Many churches are like their country – chaotic.  But not when it comes to singing.  That is the best part of their worship.  The reason they do not understand leadership principles and responsibility is they have never experienced it.  When I began teaching, they all had wide eyes and gazed intently at me.  They had never heard this before.  Not one of them had heard the word leadership before, so I had to spend quite some time explaining the concept and defining the word.  When they finally got it, they were amazed.  Wow!  Leaders lead; they do not dictate.   Pastors are to be respected because God has appointed them to their position.  Many such elementary principles were taught that they gobbled up.  I was only able to cover about 20% of what I had planned to teach.  After feeding them, there were many questions.  I then explained my idea to them about the Bible Institute and they all were excited about the idea that someone would do that for them.  The pastor of the Cap-Haitien church, the youngest of the pastors but the most educated one was practically in tears as he embraced me.  We ended in the early afternoon because most of them had a long way to go home over those treacherous roads.  Many of them arrived by top-top.  Top-top is a small pickup truck with a camper top that people ride inside of, on top of, hanging from, and standing on the back bumper, many times carrying 15 or more.  You can see them in some of the videos I took.  It is probably the cheapest way to travel. 

Picture of those attending seminar (some leaders missing from picture)

Then back to the hotel for more fish, this time Pastor Andrew’s son in law joined us.  Five of us all together.  Again, because of the strenuous teaching and exhausting day, Pastor Andrew decided that the crusade would be too much.  He was probably right.  I was in bed by 9.

Sunday: We arrived at the Cap-Haitien church by 8, and again much singing before I preached.  The young pastor was excited to have me there.  We had to leave by 9:30 to drive over an hour up into the mountains to Bas Limbe to the first church Pastor Andrew started in 1987.   Again, the gravel roads were worse than deplorable, more pot holes than level ground, cattle and goats, women carrying everything from water to food to fire wood balanced on their heads.  Small shacks lining the road that housed lottery sales (I saw more lottery sale stores than any other business; hundreds of them, perhaps thousands) and other small businesses ranging from clothes to produce and who knows what.  As we were going there, all of a sudden about 20 white GMC SUVs roared passed us with lights flashing.  The president of Haiti, Michel Martelly, was going to Cap-Haitien for a visit.  He pointed out the place on an extremely steep part of the road where he fell riding his bicycle to church one Sunday.  He was bloodied by his fall, but he made it to church and preached while bleeding.  We arrived in Bas Limbe while they were still singing – naturally.  Every church I visited seemed to think they needed a sound system - hooked up to a generator to supply power – cranked up to its highest level.  Even the small churches.  The Bas Limbe church was rocking with loud music and a lot of feedback.  But they didn’t seem to notice.  Pastor Andrew immediately sent Methilus to fix it.  More singing and “Mesi Jezi” and “Halellujah.”  Again I preached with Pastor Andrew translating.  We did not leave until well into the afternoon because so many people wanted face time with Pastor Andrew.  Since he lives in Naples and pastors a church here, he only gets to Haiti a couple of times a year, so when he is there, he is in demand.

                

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjwknKtepNc

Back to the hotel after another harrowing ride.  We decided that since this was my last day, we would go to the crusade and I would preach again.  Guess what?  It rained, no crusade.   But since we had more than 10 hours on the road and having preached twice, it wasn’t too painful to have it cancelled. 

I went to Haiti with the expectation of preaching at least three nights at the crusade, but God had other plans.  He wanted me to see all the churches under Pastor Andrew’s leadership.  He wanted me to meet the pastors and discern their real need.  It is to be taught the Bible.  Yes, they love the Lord.  Yes, they worship the only way they know how – loudly and exuberantly.  But they need much more.  They will never progress beyond excitable infancy unless they learn the Bible.  They will continue to have the many problems they currently face until they learn to submit to pastoral leadership as he submits to the Lord’s leading.  The pastors will continue to remain essentially Biblically illiterate until they are taught the Bible and learn to expound it.  There are a few Bible colleges in Haiti, but the great majority of pastors cannot afford to attend them.  That is why we need to give them Bible teaching that is free of charge.  And it needs to be geared to their level of learning.  It needs to be written simply on eighth grade level so they can grasp it.

My plans are to give them a two year course of study consisting of basic Bible teaching.  There will be 12 courses, one every two months, that they must complete.  If they want to go further, then there will be another 12 courses on an intermediate level.  Should they want more, 12 more on a more advanced level, but certainly not seminary level.  There will be graduation and diplomas awarded.  To see their response to the little I gave them on Saturday, I can only imagine how they will react to having a diploma awarded to them for completing a two year course of study.  The lessons will need to be translated into Creole then sent to them in a binder.  The first courses will be basically fill in the blanks and multiple choice.  But they will have to study to get the right answers and to gain knowledge.  The first course I plan to send them will be on leadership.  This is the only course I will require 100% on in order to pass it.  If they do not understand leadership, then they will never be effective as pastors even if they learn the Bible.  I will write it so everyone can get 100%.  If anyone wants to help me write any of these courses, let me know.  Perhaps you know of courses that are on their educational level that I can use as is or modify to suit their needs.

Over all it was an enlightening and humbling experience.  I know that there are many poverty stricken nations in the world with problems as bad as Haiti’s, but it seems to me that poverty is not quite the word that describes what Haiti experiences.  It is worse.  If I had gone to another country, I would be writing about that one.  There has been much aid sent to Haiti since the earthquake, but most of it is still sitting in containers in Port Au Prince.  The government is totally corrupt.   The only way to get something done is to bribe an official.  The UN is present there, but they are there basically to get money and to have fun in the sun.  There are several organizations at work there, but they can only help a small amount of people compared to the total population.  If there were 100 aid organizations that were helping 5000 people each, that is only 500,000 people being helped.   There are millions there who are not being helped.  They are hungry and need clothes.  I saw many naked children.  They need medical help.  Pastor Andrew wants to set up a mobile medical clinic a couple of times per year with free medical treatment.  There is a great need.  Mostly malnutrition and urinary infections due to the poor water.  Malaria, typhoid.  There are medical personnel in Haiti to do follow up work if necessary.  Any volunteers to go for a few days?  As you can see from the pictures, the church buildings need much work.  Another need maybe you feel led to help with?  Any donations will be given to Pastor Andrew to send to Methilus, his administrator, to distribute as needed.

Pastor Andrew’s organization in Haiti is The Christian Mission for the Restoration of North Haiti.  He has faithfully worked and preached for over 25 years now.  His mission is one of the very few Haitian operated ministries in Haiti.  A great deal of missions work is done by American run ministries.  He has paid, out of his pocket, most of the expenses for the past 25 years.  He is worn out, physically and financially.  He needs help.  He is not complaining, but he is trusting the Lord to provide.  He approached several American run ministries to help him, but they refused because they are not in his area of operation.  They only deal with needs in their immediate geographical area.  I will be serving on his board here in the USA and trying to help in any way I can.  I will be making trips to Haiti as the Lord provides finances.  It never crossed my mind that at my age I would be starting a new venture, but here I go. 

I know that there are many excellent ministries to support, but I would ask each of you to prayerfully consider this ministry.  Maybe a one time gift, maybe a monthly support.  If you see the need and God lays on your heart to support us, then please be obedient to His leading.  If so, please comment as to your intention in the comment section and I will send you information for mailing your check.

God bless you all.                                                                        

These next videos were taken as we drove through the streets of Cap-Haitien.  Richard Gardner in New Hampshire would have an absolute blast driving there.  As far as I can determine there are only three traffic laws in Haiti. 

1.       Everyone has the right of way

2.       No one has the right of way

3.       Honk your horn often.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoC7BM4i48A  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yE_Scevt1w 

Lying to Congress, or Liar's Paradise

Lying to Congress

What I am about to write will most likely not curry much favor among those who read it.  I know that going into this.  Or, perhaps most or all of you will agree at least in part with my conclusions.  Either way, these are my thoughts concerning this subject. 

We have all seen and read much about the Roger Clemens trial for perjury.  He had the audacity to lie to congress about taking “performance enhancing drugs”.   He took chemical supplements that gave him an edge over others in a game he played.  They made him, perhaps, a little better than he may have been without taking them.  Yes, it gave him a slight advantage over those who he pitched against.  No.  It was not playing fair.  Yes.  He was wrong.  But, in the final analysis, he was guilty of cheating in a game.  Whether or not he took these steroids, he was a great pitcher, one of baseball’s all time greats.  His name has forever been tarnished because of this scandal.  He will not enter the Hall of Fame.  This blog in not primarily meant to analyze his taking of steroids. 

I see another issue at play here.  Perhaps a more important issue than whether an athlete uses chemicals to build his muscles so he can excel in his chosen sport.  What the trial is all about is that he lied to a bunch of other liars.  Does anyone believe anything that any politician says?  Lying is ingrained into their very soul.  What sticks in my craw is that congress has the nerve to accuse him of lying to them.  Hey!  Congress!  When you learn to tell the truth to us, then you can rightfully expect the public to tell you the truth.  Liars do not deserve to have the truth.  They deserve only what they give.  “You reap what you sow.”  You cannot expect to sow lies and reap truth.  Nature does not work that way.

How many politicians are guilty of cheating in their game?  Every one of them.  They have even been known to resurrect the dead in Chicago in order to get more votes.  Yet, they dare to condemn and then crucify athletes for cheating in their game.  Why the double standard?  Why do politicians believe it is acceptable for them to cheat and lie in order to get what they want – reelection to their cushy job with its better-than-any-other-citizen-has benefits?  Because they are the law makers.  They say what the rest of us must do.  They exempt themselves from many of the rules they institute for the rest of us.  They deem themselves better than us.  More worthy. 

Congress reminds me of a store in Nottingham, NH at the fork between Routes 152 and 156.  It is named Liar's Paradise.  Old timers used to gather there around the old wood stove and see who could tell the biggest whopper.  Prizes were given to the winner.  It seems to me that the entire congress should be named Liar's Paradise, for they all are guilty of lying, and they all seek the winner's prize of reelection. The only problem for them is that no liars go to Paradise.  They all go to the "lake of fire."  Liars, regardless of whether they are congressmen or not, regardless of their motive for lying, are on very dangerous ground.  They are tempting the Almighty. 

Now, the Bible does state that we must honor those in authority over us.  And congress is in authority over us.  But…(you heard the but coming, didn’t you?) congress is responsible to God for how they conduct the affairs of state.  They must not be self-serving, but must serve those who elected them to their office.  Congress is in authority over human beings, and human beings will mimic what they see their leaders doing.  If they see them cheating, or hear them lying, what do they expect others to do?  What they tell them to do or what they see and hear them doing?  If they want to be respected as leaders, then do not criticize others for following in their footsteps.

Being lied to by citizens is exactly what congress should expect when that is what they do to the American public.  If they want truth, then give and live it.

Harold Camping's Nonsense

As many of you are aware, May 21, 2011 at 6:00 PM was supposed to be the “rapture” as prophesied by the self-proclaimed “prophecy expert” Harold Camping.  He took millions of dollars from his followers of Family Radio to put up thousands of billboards around the world proclaiming that May 21, 2011 would be the end of the world. Well, obviously, that did not occur.  He, like many others through the years, namely, William Miller, Ellen White, Jonas Swendahl,  Charles Taze Russell, and Edgar Whisenant to name a few, thinks that he has been blessed with the ability to forecast what God has denied men the knowledge of.  This is not the first time he has made of fool of himself and has caused unbelievers to mock the Second Coming of Jesus.  What is so hard for him to understand about “No man knows the day or the hour”?  He thinks he can determine both.  He has now determined that October 21, 2011 will be the big day.

 I bring this up as an addendum to the Preface (The Last Trumpet - available as an ebook on Amazon Kindle), to make a point.  He is feeling rather foolish today and his cohorts are feeling that they have been deceived.  Although when Jesus returns, all true believers will be with Him forever – regardless of their various eschatological beliefs and idiosyncrasies. I wonder if those who believe in the “rapture” as defined by Premillennialism will also realize that they have placed their faith in a deception. 

 Camping’s complicated and complex mathematical formula for determining the day of the “rapture” is no less complicated than the man-made Premillennial system that so many trust in today.  The Second Coming is simple.  Uncomplicated. 

 Many of the Premillennial camp think they have correctly read the “signs of the times.”  They have determined that certain social, economic, and natural occurrences – hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, tsunamis - and certain technological advances have brought in the “last days” (according to Scripture, the last days began with the first coming of Jesus.  The last days stand in contrast to the former days i.e. the Old Covenant) and that their definition of the “rapture” must occur as they have forecast.  This has been going on for a long time.  Every time something new, unexpected, or disastrous happens, someone sees it as an indicator of imminent “rapture.”  I have personally heard several preachers – going back to the 1960’s – 50 years now - declare with arrogant certainty that the “rapture” must happen any day now – immediately if not sooner - because of how they interpret Matthew 24.  Many of them continue with their predictions even after decades of upheavals in the world that they have declared with conviction marks the unquestionable nearness of the “rapture.”  They have totally misunderstood the words of our Lord in the Olivet Discourse.  Jesus clearly states that wars, earthquakes, pestilences, famines, deceivers, and tribulation must take place, but that the end is not yet. 

These are not signs of anything.  These are the natural occurrences that will continue in a sin-ladened world until Jesus does return.  Yet, the “prophecy experts” persist with their resolute declarations.  They still adamantly assert that their definition of the “rapture” must occur as they have so expertly pronounced.  In answer to “no man knows the day or the hour”, they state somewhat self-righteously that they are not setting days or hours for the Second Coming, but rather are determining the “imminency” of the “rapture.”  They have that right, so they say.  (I hope to prove to you Scripturally throughout this book that there is no such thing as the Premillennial “rapture.”  There is only the Second Coming.)

 But Jesus said Matthew 24: 38, 39 that life at the end of time will be just like it was prior to the flood.  People will be marrying, eating, drinking, and conducting life as they always had been doing. 

 Matthew 24: 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

 Nothing will indicate the time of the Second Coming. There will be no sign that specifies His return is imminent.  It will be at a time that is unexpected.  But, just like Harold Camping, many “prophecy experts” believe they have the inside track on the approximate time of the Second Coming.  But, these “experts” have redefined the Second Coming to suit their theological preferences.  They consider the “rapture” to be the initial stage of the Second Coming.  Then the actual Second Coming occurs some seven years later.  If the “signs” that they imagine are being fulfilled now point to the Second Coming, then the “rapture” must be upon us.  But, that is just as much a distortion of Biblical truth as Camping has launched.

There is one truth I hope everyone takes away from this fiasco of the past few months.  God is not held captive to man’s foibles and misinterpretations of His Word.  He will accomplish His will as He has mandated, not as man dictates or desires.  Man’s will or pronouncements hold no power over Him.  God has declared the manner of the Second Coming of Jesus, and no man will change that, regardless of how sincerely others believe and teach otherwise.