Family and Friends,
NOTE: This blog is part 2 of 3...reading part 1 will help this make sense!
After I told Lynn what the title was to the first blog post of this week, she gasped, “It was more than just a pleasant surprise!” We were truly blown away to see Marlon and Cora in our little humble corner of the planet. It is a cherished memory we won’t soon forget. The memory will also be colored by the little adventures that happened while they were here as well.
The morning after the team arrived everyone got right to work, especially the crew of four talented and passionate men from Westview CRC in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They were bound and determined to construct a hurricane-proof house on the new property down by the ocean. The first morning they decided to leave for work around 7:15, so they loaded up the truck and opened the big gate to the property. They had agreed to that time with Pam, and they were sticking to it. They hadn’t yet been here long enough to know that when Pam says “7:15” it means we will leave for sure by 8:00, if possible, hopefully, Lord-willing. (Pam’s been coming here so long she’s half Haitian). So they left without her! I had to laugh.
It wasn’t long before Larry, the senior member of the contruction team, came back with Kiki in the truck to dress a wound. He had tried to descend the old gravelly staircase to the new property, fell, and cut his shin. His first reaction was to wonder why his pants were getting all wet. Of course it was blood. He had a good attitude about it, got the wound taken care of by one of the many nurses, and then continued to work on wood forms for the cement columns they would later pour.
Part of the team went down to one of the local schools to do a children's Bible program, and the other men and I walked down to the construction site to check out what was happening. From there we combed our way back through the village, touching base with some of the men whom Patchouko and I had invited to the mini-Promise Keeper’s program we hosted each day. We had a chance to catch up with several of the guys, let the team get to know them a bit, and then make sure they knew when the activities would begin, etc… But as we approached the clinic one of the women on the team came running out and yelled to us, “We need help in the clinic. We need as many people as possible to help us pray.”
I knew right away it must be some kind of demonic activity. If it had only been something medical the nurses would have either handled it or rushed the patient off to the city hospital. By the look on her face I could tell we were looking at a spiritual problem. By the time the other men and I arrived, Sue and others had already been dealing with a possessed 11-year old boy for about ninety minutes. He was thrashing about and Gertrude and Renard (the Haitian ladies who run the orphanage) were praying energetically over him to be delivered.
To make a long story short (as always this particular event could have its own blog post, or two) the team continued to pray and worship for several hours until the boy was completely and utterly exhausted and collapsed on a bed. One of the scariest moments in the whole thing was when one of the men got overheated, sat down on the floor, and became a little bit incoherent for a minute or two. I had to laugh later, recalling how some of the Haitians went and threw a bucket of water on him. I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but that is just step #1 for them in any medical situation. He was fine the rest of the week.
After sleeping through the night the boy was better in the morning. The family later sent him up to Madame Saver, a prophetess of sorts up in the mountains. She continued to pray for him for a few more days, and the boy is his same old self now. Another blessing from this whole adventure was to see his Father come to Christ in the midst of the trial. That is absolutely key when these kids get taken over by demons. If their parents are Christians and take authority of the child, spiritually speaking, it seems to override the right of the demon to be there. Bear with me, I’m new to this!
So Day 1 of the big team's visit got off to an exciting start to say the least. Welcome to Haiti! After that the mens’ group got off on the right foot, and the construction crew remained busy. The women at the school finished their program, and some of the women back at the orphanage began teaching a small, diverse group of men, women, and children how to run a sewing machine and make cloth diapers.
I have to say something funny about that sewing machine. The brand name is “Finger.” We all had to laugh at that. I guess it is a cheaper version of “Singer.” You see that everywhere in Haiti. For example, there is one motorcycle company who makes the “Wave” motorcycle, so another one puts out the “Wvae” motorcycle. They just rearrange the letters a little bit. There are also the Dayun and Duyang motorcycles. People do brand stealing like that down here that would get you sued in the US for sure.
So after all that and a shaky start with the Youth Group for the week, we called it a day. Marlon and Cora, our pleasant surprise guests, got a good taste of what life is like in Haiti. The rest of the week was exciting as well!
May the Lord bless your life with adventure!
-The Grimm Family Adventurers
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