Mountains Beyond Mountains

the hum of the waves crashing in the distance below,

the silence of the mountains shouting the wonders of our Creator,

the quiet rustle of the leaves blowing in the wind, 

the sun peaking through the trees as it rises to start the day,

the constant chatter of the women at work, 

the stillness of my soul cries out of how great our God is

<an attempt to describe the atmosphere of my quiet time with the Lord each morning in the mountains this week>

This past week I spent the week in the beautiful mountains of Haiti with about thirteen other Haitian sisters in Christ. This group is a choir from a local church in Jacmel. The pastor of this church is a great friend of mine who constantly encourages me and inspires me. He is completely sold out for our Savior and he shows it in the way that he pours into his church. He has discipled his church and now they are on mission. They graciously allowed for me to be a part of their group this week. Our mission was simple: share the gospel. We did door to door evangelism in the mornings, held crusades in the evening, and showed Christian films at night. To say the least, we saw God do big things this week. We saw lost become found, we saw lives transform before our eyes, we experienced a sisterhood through the blood of Christ, and we worshipped a big, big God. About fifteen people came to know the Lord as their Lord and Savior. One of these new believers attended the crusade every evening, and watching this new believer worship his heart out was so humbling. The bond formed between this group of sisters in Christ is something I will treasure in my heart forever. Yes, I was the only white person within miles, but I often forgot this. The blind love that we shared created a pure transparency between us. These women of faith inspired me, loved me, laughed with me, and taught me. They taught me boldness and showed me shameless faith. They taught me how to carry water on my head and showed me graceful interdependence. They taught me how to wash dishes on the side of a mountain and they showed me wholehearted worship. If we did anything this week, we worshipped our Savior. At five o’clock in the morning, these women woke up singing praises with a candlelight to see the hymnal. (I have to admit, I might have dozed a little bit through this hourlong worship session.) We worshipped the Lord in song as we walked from house to house to evangelize. We worshipped for hours together at the crusades each evening.

I learned so many things this week but the Lord gave me a parallel that I think sums up the week most accurately. So here it is. Each morning as we trekked the mountains to share the gospel with people at their homes, I had to keep my eyes on the ground the whole entire time. I had to literally watch my feet land on the ground in order to keep my balance on the steep rocky terrain. I couldn't see what was in front of me until we stopped walking and I could look up. Haitians, on the other hand, didn't have this problem as much. They could look straight ahead and trust that their feet would be placed where they needed to be. They could even carry the great weight of a bucket of water on their head while climbing the mountain. As I was thinking about this, Hebrews 12:1-2 came to mind. It says, "Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." The Haitians have trained their feet to walk on the rough, steep paths because they have been "fixing their eyes" on the ground since they could walk. Because of this, they no longer had to stare at the ground but could see what was in front of them and even carry weight on their heads. Similarly, when we have fixed our eyes on Christ for so long, our hearts can be trained to be able to look straight ahead. We can look straight ahead to see the needs of this world. And we can achieve the balance needed to carry burdens as we continue walking. With our balance in check, we can also offer a hand to the person struggling with their footing (me). We must fix our eyes on Christ so fervently so that we can look straight ahead into this world and still see Him. You can see Him at work. You can see where Christ is needed. You can carry heavy loads of stress, hurt, and struggles. You can see the wonders of God like mountains beyond mountains and oceans that seem to never end. You can lend a helping hand to your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ as they climb the mountain beside you. 

(Haitians, I learned this week, eat a ton! I was unable to keep up, so they made a deal with me. If I could finish my meal, then they would give me 5 gourds to buy a sucker. It became a joke of the week, and this is my sweet friend who got me my lollipop!)

Yes, I learned a lot of things this week. I learned to “be Haitian” for a week. I learned a new sense of dependence on the Lord. I learned new Creole songs. I learned the importance of transparency as a child of God. I relearned the value of brotherly (in this case, sisterly) love. I learned just how compassionate Haitians are. I learned to love big, because our God is big. I learned a lot about how Haitians live and new things about the culture here in Haiti. But I also learned, that no matter how much time I spend here, how much of the language I learn, and how many Haitian friends I call family; I will never be Haitian. I cannot change my location of birth. Just like as children of God, no matter how hard we try, we will never be able to change our location of our true home. No matter how hard we try, we will never be of this world. All children of God have their citizenship in heaven. Therefore, our location of natural birth is irrelevant in terms of forever. I thank God for this truth, and the miracle of sharing the hope of the gospel that unites the Body of Christ. 

We instantly became friends this week as we share the same age. She has the sweetest heart I have ever seen!

Isaiah 12:2-5 

“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD Himself, is my strength and defense; He has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. In that day you will say: Give praise to the LORD, proclaim His name, make known amount the nations what He has done, and proclaim that His name is exalted. Sing to the Lord for He has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world.”

Isaiah 61:1-3

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.”