Its not my story.

Reading about Stephen in the book of Acts always inspires me and challenges me. But when I read Acts 7 one morning on the front porch of the mission house overlooking the orphanage, God revealed to me a beautiful truth. While I've been here in Haiti, I have been trying to write some of the incredible testimonies of pastors, translators, and friends here. But when I read this chapter in Acts after listening to these people's stories, a new meaning was given to this passage. In Acts 7, Stephen has been brought before the authorities to give him a chance to present his case. His defense statement began with Abraham. He basically walked them through the Old Testament to Jesus and to himself as his testimony. This is when I realized, Stephen's story is not his story but God's. Abraham and Stephen are a part of the same story. Stephen and I are a part of the same story. As Christians, all of our lives are a part of God's story. The story of redemption and grace. The story of love and power. All of our personal testimonies are excerpts of God's story. Its not our story at all. As a result, I would like to share some of these pieces of God's story with you.

Bertrand's Story // Evangelism is manifesting the hope of salvation into a world full of souls.

Bertrand is a fulltime translator for Children's Hope. He works in the medical clinic evangelizing to each patient that comes. Every Saturday he goes and visits patients who accepted Christ that week. Evangelism is his heart. Bertrand blesses every person he talks to with his encouraging and kind spirit. He is an inspiration to be bold in faith and to show compassion always. God has given Bertrand a heart for the lost. Bertrand came to know the Lord as his personal Savior when his dad took him to a revival at their church. Since that day, the Lord began burdening Bertrand's heart for the lost. One day, Bertrand and his younger brother went to a local hospital and began sharing the gospel with patients there. Five people accepted Christ that day. Ever since then, evangelism has been a huge part of Bertrand's life. He has been passionately sharing the gospel for the past fourteen years. Bertrand is constantly emptying of Himself because he longs to be full of the Spirit of God. The Lord’s Spirit overflows from Bertrand through his actions and his words. Bertrand stated, “I love Jesus so much.” When talking about how he is continuing to share about God’s love and power and giving God the glory, he exclaimed, “Nobody can stop me.”

Nader's Story // God is our Powerful Healer at all times.

Nader drives Children's Hope's mission teams back and forth from Port Au Prince to Jacmel.

Nader grew up with a father who practiced Voodoo. In 1985, Nader became very sick. This sickness consumed his appetite and ability to sleep. His father searched in the Voodoo realm for healing. No cure was found. Nader searched everywhere for a cure, but not one was found. Searching for things in darkness without light is impossible. One day, Nader heard a voice telling him to go to a prayer meeting. He looked around to see the owner of this voice but searched in vain. Nader’s sister, who he had not spoken to in a long time, came to his house and asked where he was going. Nader responded that he was going to a prayer meeting. His sister excitedly asked Nader to follow her there. Without his sister, he would not have known the way to the prayer meeting. At the prayer meeting, which was held in someone’s home, God spoke powerfully and directly to Nader. The preacher spoke of things so personal to Nader that there was no denying the power of the Holy Spirit in the room. To the most precise details God called out to Nader in the powerful and personal way that our God works. Nader heard the voice again exclaiming, “Accept me, accept me.” Nader looked around to see where the voice was coming from and again searched in vain. 

Nader went to one of the only churches he knew of at the time in Port-au-Prince. He told the preacher that he was ready to accept Christ that day. The pastor said that he was about to do a wedding but afterwards, he would meet with Nader and his family to pray with them. That day, Nader and his wife accepted Jesus Christ into their lives promising to follow Him alone always. That night, Nader, who hadn’t slept in weeks, laid down his head and fell asleep almost instantly. While he was sleeping, he had a dream. In this dream, he heard someone knocking at his door. A white man appeared, but his face could not be seen. The man announced to Nader, “I have come into your heart today. I am here to stay.” The next morning when Nader awoke, his fever was completely gone and his appetite had returned. This instantaneous healing from the Lord happened in his heart and in his body. Praise the Lord! Nader’s gratitude to the Lord for saving him still remains as fervent today as it was the day of his salvation.


Emile's Story // By God's Power Alone

Emile works as a translator for Children's Hope. Emile's sweet spirit extracts the grace of the Lord into this world.

At the age of three, Emile became very sick. His throat was so swollen that it caused many other health problems. He was constantly in pain. His parents took him to countless doctors to help find a cure. Finally many years later, one doctor told them that there was not a cure for Emile's condition. Out of desperation, Emile prayed to the Lord, "You are the Lord of lords and You are a powerful God. I know that nothing is impossible for you. You can overcome my challenge. I have to serve You, God. Please don't let me be ashamed. My destiny is to follow and serve you forever." He went to his church family and asked them to pray for him. It was at this time that Emile was baptized. He kept praying and praying trusting the Lord all the way. Then the Lord miraculously healed Emile completely. There was no earthly explanation to his healing. It was by the supernatural power of the Lord of the universe that erased the illness from his life. Recognizing this, Emile praised God for every good thing He had given him. He thanked God for working in and all around his life for His glory. Emile came to know in a real and powerful way that God who rescued him will always rescue him in every situation and that He is the God of the past, present, and future. God can change anything. 

Madam Gèna's Story // Forgiven to love.

Madam Gèna is a nanny of the older girls at Children’s Hope. When I think of Madam Gèna, I think of above and beyond. She does not merely love others, she overflows with passionate love. She is not simply a joyful person, she radiates the joy of Christ. Her fullness of the Spirit is obvious in the simplest things she does—her hugs, her smiles, her acts of kindness, and her encouraging words. How beautiful it is to watch this wonderful woman make lasting impacts on the next generation of this country.
Madam Gèna was born in Jacmel. She was raised in a Christian Evangelical home, but her faith was not originally her own. When she went to the Dominican Republic to study in school, she got baptized. She dedicated her life to the Lord. As she was describing this encounter with the Lord, she went on and on about forgiveness. She spoke about the importance of forgiving others. She powerfully reminded me of the woman in Luke 7. “And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed His feet and anointed them with fragrant oil.” Jesus said about her later in the chapter, “Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” Madam Gèna, like every other human on this earth, has sinned. Unfortunately, unlike many of us, we have failed to see the severity in our sin and therefore missed the greatness of our Savior. As a result, many of us can learn from Madam Gèna’s fervor for the Lord. She knows how much she has been forgiven; consequently, she has dedicated her life to passionately and joyfully serving her precious Savior by overflowing with the Spirit of the Holy Spirit.

Pastor Nicolas' Story // A true hunger and thirst for the Word is so important in Christian leadership.

Nicolas is literally one of kind. He is an administrator of the orphanage of Children's Hope who just graduated seminary, is an extraordinary father to two beautiful children, is the beloved pastor of a church in the mountains of Cap Rouge, and a dear mentor and friend to myself. Nicolas grew up in the mountains outside of Jacmel in a Catholic household. It wasn't until he traveled to the Dominican Republic to study engineering that someone told him the truth about Jesus Christ. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Nicolas accepted the Lord as his Savior on September 18, 2007. Scripture was such a mystery to him, and he began to hunger and thirst desperately for the Word. He began attending a Bible study and started to grow deeply in his relationship with the Lord. 

The Lord has done some big things in Nicolas' life. One of these is his call to ministry. Nicolas has been a pastor of a church in his hometown for the past two years. He travels up the mountain every weekend with his family to study the Bible with the male leaders of the community. Several are coming to know the Lord in this area, and even more are growing closer to God and following Him in obedience. Another big thing the Lord has done through Nicolas is save his parents through crusades that Nicolas led. Nicolas is an encouragement to follow the Lord with overwhelming joy and sacrificial obedience. Nicolas encourages others by his testimony and his true love of kingdom expansion. "Go. I just love to go." -- One of his favorite Scriptures: Matthew 28:19

These past six weeks in Haiti, I didn't solve any great problems. I didn't rescue child slaves, I didn't feed starving babies, I didn't provide jobs for the unemployed, I didn't do anything drastic. I could come away thinking that I should count this as a loss, but I'm not. Because I was obedient. And I know one thing for sure: I loved deeply. I loved people. This love was made even more effective through my Creole (still learning a lot). I was able to sit down and have conversations about deeper things. I learned an endless amount from people. People is what its all about. Jesus died for people. My summer might not have looked miraculously, but I believe it was a lot of preparation. God uses people who are willing to prepare and during their preparation. Its exciting following our great God!