thursday, january 14, 2010
Haiti Dunamis Pictures with notes
The Haiti Dunamis pictures are nice, by themselves, but a few notes about what is happening there helps make the story more complete.
This view lets you know how beautiful the nation of Haiti can be! We are at the shore on the south side of the northern arm of Haiti. We are about two hours west of Port au Prince.
This is the main meeting area, on the right hand side on the lower level. Upstairs is where many men room and downstairs, to the left, is where most of the women room. You will notice some tents out front. Father Deravil obtained a number of tents after the Hurricane and they unpack them for those who would rather have the own space.
Here's the meeting area from an end shot. We meet on the lower level. You can also see this as one of the concrete, unreinforced block building that came down in the earthquake.
Our Haitian leaders! These are the three priests we have been working with for a number of years. From right to left, Father Sadoni, director of St. Vincents and priest at Epiphany Church in Port au Prince. Next is Father Deravil, the director of the retreat center where we are retreating, and the church in Montrouis (Mow - wee). On the left is Father Colbert. He is the priest in Les Cayes, located south and west of Port au Prince on the southern shore of the south arm. These three and Father Cedar comprise the Evangelism Committee of the Episcopal Church of Haiti.
This is most of our team. We are missing Gary Wybenga. From left to right, Margie Van Meter, Pastor John Werth, Jenny LeMahieu, Leanne Jansen, Marg Reckman, Pastor Jon, Butterfly's red hair, Pastor Dave Weemhof and Father Deravil. We are in Father Deravil's living room. Most of stayed in Father Deravil's home. This was an evening "debriefing".
This is our teaching area and Pastor Dave is teaching. As well up front is translators and our prayer warriors, John Werth to the left and Marg Reckman to the right.
Pastor Jon is making a point. Father Deravil is translating.
Leanne Jansen gave a testimony of the Lord's work in her life.
When we are in Haiti, there is a lot of enegetic worship! We start with an hour of prayer at 7 am every morning and ALL the Haitians are there! Regularly throughout the teaching, there are times when a praise song to Jesus is exactly what causes the evil spirits to flee. Much of Haitian worship emphasizes "body worship".
Not all the teaching is done in formal sessions! But it isn't easy dealing with the translations issues. But good conversation and learning goes on throughout the day.
This is a good picture of the Montrouis, St. Paul's Episcopal Church. We are looking from the front (the altar) toward the rear. The seating is across the back and then parallels the walls at the front. Here we are singing and rejoicing in the Lord!
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, we held revival services in the Montrouis Church. The first night was focused on the call to salvation. The second night was on growing in our knowledge of Jesus Christ. The final night, Thursday, was focused on healing. On Thursday night, we had 11 prayer teams and each team prayed for at least ten persons. Father Sadoni is translating the message!
The first night we started small, with just several prayer teams. Here are some. Leanne and Marg are praying with a lady and Father Colbert is translating and praying.
Some of the greatest and most energetic worship happens after the prayer time is done! We are praising the Lord for his great goodness and power!
This is a picture of the people who attended our retreat from the Haitian Christian Reformed Church. There were six people, five pastors and a woman. We talked together and explored the possibility of having a Dunamis among the Haitian Christian Reformed Churches. Jenny is translating for Pastor Jon.
One of the great privileges of this retreat was the attendance of the entire Episcopal Seminary. Here is a picture of the seventeen seminarians at the seminary. The seminary closed classes so all could attend. What a privelege to teach these future leaders in the church!
We certainly ate well! Father Deravil's wife, Fenide, is the "chief cook" and she does a marvelous job or organizing and getting things together for 120 people!
They fill the plates! Rice and beans, chicken, beef or goat is usually added at dinner time, along with lettuce, tomatoes, beets, carrots and some sort of dessert! We ate well.
This is on the grounds of Camp Quisqueya, the retreat center. Off the shore is La Gonave, the big island in the middle of bay. Swimming and snorkeling can be done right out the door! It is a beautiful place and God was richly with us! We give thanks to him for a great week of learning and prayer.
Comments:
03/15/2010 - Jane VanderPloeg
Thanks so much for making this annotated report with pictures! Wow! Great to see what you've been writing about.
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