Haiti is a nation ripe with harvest. It is also a nation that has been steeped in darkness and voodoo for centuries.
Yet, we are not afraid of the dark. After all we bear the Light and when the light comes the darkness cannot stand.
On a prayer walk through the country side of Haiti, climbing hills and rocky trails, a group of short-term missionaries made their way through the small village of Merger.
At the top of a hill, waiting as if she expected them, was a woman. Dressed as a voodoo priestess should be she wore rings that denoted her “marriage” to the spirit world. Each ring stood for a spirit.
The translator told the crew of young people who she was and what the rings meant. They did not see voodoo. Instead they saw a woman that needed Jesus.
So they asked questions. They touched with gentle hands. They spoke the gospel.
Her replies upset the translator and out of frustration the translator stopped participating in the conversation. But, the young man and young women there did not back down.
They began to pray.
Albert, (who was the only guy in the group) began to pray fervently in English for this priestess. He prayed, “Father, divorce her from these evil things. Let her remove the symbols of voodoo and let her bring herself to you like a bride.”
There was no translation. There was just the Spirit, who began to have his way. She began to weep in repentance and call on the name of the Lord. She returned to her house and removed every symbol of voodoo. She tore down statues, offerings, and changed out of her priestly garments.
She came out with her arms full of her old life and handed it all to the man and women.
“Tanpri, boule l ‘tout.” (Please, burn it all!)
She handed them matches and they watched as the outward signs of her inward bondage were burned. The translator and the group led her to Jesus. Hand in hand they prayed and darkness fled.
When she joined us the next day for a church service she told the story from her point of view. She said that God had been preparing her. In dreams she had seen the Americans. She stood outside waiting for them.
Her life was draped in darkness, but the Light of Jesus has come and today is a new day in Haiti.
When our hearts touch the heart of our Father, and we pray his will so perfectly over someone’s life, he is swift to move.
I have read the Lord’s prayer many times. I have even prayed it, but never have I seen someone pray it so passionately in their own way, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done — NOW — on earth as it is in heaven.” That is what Albert did when he prayed for the priestess and God showed up.
On a hillside, in a tiny town, the Lord brought life and light where death and darkness once lived and he did it through young people just like you.
I cried when she came to church and the tears just welled back up remembering this. Just an unbelievable story of God’s grace and power. So blessed to be a part of this team and to celebrate alongside so many as light exposed the darkness and life triumphed over death.
Thanks for putting the story up there Dayna.
This is so good!
This is so good!