Beauty for Ashes

Everyone has seen the pictures and news reports about the earthquake aftermath in Haiti. It is indeed a heart wrenching experience. I have just returned from Haiti having served as a member of a team setting up water purifiers. Our team went out of the Port Au Prince area and into the villages around the town of Leogane. Leogane was twelve miles from the epicenter of the quake and is about 90+% rubble.

While is is easy to focus on the devastation, the Lord gave me a glimpse of the reality that He is alive and well. As we camped in tents we could hear praise, worship and preaching of the word well into the night-every night. People are open to the gospel and are being baptized. The president even canceled the Mardis Gras, which in Haiti is a Voodoo high holy day when people are killed and demon possession is welcomed by many. In it's stead there was a call for prayer and fasting in memory of those who died.

The Lord brought two biblical pictures to mind. The first was Jeremiah 33: 3+. I had received that scripture ten years ago as a promise and a picture of what the Lord wanted to do in restoration. He will make Haiti a praise in the earth for His glory. The scripture came alive as I read it in the middle of the ruins.

He also brought to mind Nehemiah. During that time, those on the outside said,"Can they build with these burnt stones?" The people however had the plan from God, a heart for the work and a willingness to continue even when the work was hard and the people were spread out. The worked with the burnt stones in one hand and the sword in the other. When the enemy would come in and try to overcome the weak places the people would gather at the gaps and stand against him.

Today,the spirit of the Lord is strong in God's people in Haiti. The are working with what they have in one hand and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God in the other. It will not be by their might or their tenacity, but by the spirit of the Lord that will accomplish it. And, as brought forth in Jeremiah. He will pour out such a blessing that the world will be amazed and God will be glorified.

I am returning to Haiti March 1-8 to meet with church leaders and seek the Lord about how He wants us to work together in the days ahead.

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