Standing in Holy Places - Haiti

A mom from my son's class randomly sent me a text the other day.  She said she would be sharing at her church about Standing in Holy places and asked me if I wanted to share regarding Haiti.  If you know me, you know I never say no to sharing about Haiti!!!!  I wrote it for that purpose but wanted to share with my friends who love Haiti as much as I do too.  Many people are surprised that I go to Haiti as often as I do and are curious why and I always respond that there is nothing that could keep me away.  Haiti has become my heart and my family.  But, it is also a place where I feel so close to God, so comfortable and so full of joy that I literally cannot get enough.  Anyway here are my thoughts about Standing in a Holy Place...

I started traveling to Haiti over six years ago without many expectations.  I really wasn’t sure what to expect or how I would be impacted, but it has changed my life forever.  Having now traveled to Haiti somewhere around 25 times (I have lost count!), I can say that it is the place I feel closest to God.  In what is now considered the poorest country in the world, there are very few distractions for the people.  When they attend church, they are in no rush to leave.  They don’t have to be at a  soccer game or clean an enormous house, they have the time and desire to focus only on God and truly worship Him – sometimes for hours on end – and the result is incredible.  Yes there is a constant battle for survival for over 80% of the population, but that only drives the need to rely on God.  The faith of Christians in Haiti is strong, unlike  faith I have ever seen.  Worshipping in Haiti is truly standing in a Holy place.  You can feel God’s life and presence.  Of course, there is also a large part of the population that practices voodoo.  You can definitely feel that darkness at times.  But that makes God’s light even brighter.  People are not looking to their job or wealth or entertainment to be fulfilled or for security, they look to God.  Here we have a million things that lead us to take our eyes off God.  When stripped to nothingness like many Haitians are, the need for God’s presence is everything.  I look at them and think that I want to be like them, I want to worship like I have nowhere to be and give God the honor he deserves.  I have tried to follow that example every time I return, but honestly being in the midst of so many deeply rooted Christians cannot be compared to .  Love for Christ abounds in Haiti.  I have seen God work in ways that I almost cannot believe in Haiti.  I have seen God save and transform lives.  I have seen God provide in ways that are so amazing that they can only be credited to God.  I was quite naïve to think that I might be doing the good work in Haiti, for it is definitely God who led me there to do a work in me.  Our work in Haiti has given me examples of what true Christianity looks like and it has also forced me to trust completely in God.  The work we do in Haiti simply could not and cannot be accomplished by man alone.  I am so blessed to serve alongside some of the most God fearing and God loving people and to have had my eyes opened to the Greatness of my Creator and Savior.