Powerful Reminders...

We had a wonderful time in worship and devotionals this morning.

Tom has been our worship leader all this week, playing his guitar and leading us into English and Creole songs. Today, he started us off with some humor. At the beginning of worship, he said: “If you feel led to stand…stand. If you feel led to raise your hands…raise your hands. If you feel led to dance…SIT DOWN…WE ARE PRESBYTERIAN!!” Tom

After devotionals, some of us shared our impressions of the last couple of days.

Jackie reminded us of Isaiah 43:1

1 But now, this is what the LORD says—
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

Throughout the week we have been able to not only interact with the children, but also the housemothers who care for them. They have anywhere from 15 to 30 children under their supervision. You can see in their eyes the great responsibility each one of them carries, some of them too young to even understand it. And one can’t help but think how one person can manage to care, protect and provide for 30 little ones. How can one person know each and every one of those children by name, and provide all the touch and care they desperately need. Jackie worked with a housemother who perhaps was new at the orphanage, but she didn’t know the names of all the children. How sad must a child feel to realize that no one truly knows him/her. But the comfort comes from the word of God, where God reminds us that He knows us by name, that we are His!

Mitch also helped us to look at psalms from a different perspective…that of the orphans of Haiti. Read psalm 86, but from their perspective:

Hear, O LORD, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
2 Guard my life, for I am devoted to you.
You are my God; save your servant
who trusts in you.
3 Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for I call to you all day long.
4 Bring joy to your servant,
for to you, O Lord,
I lift up my soul.
5 You are forgiving and good, O Lord,
abounding in love to all who call to you.
6 Hear my prayer, O LORD;
listen to my cry for mercy.


There are so many people here in Haiti, and the need and poverty is so overwhelming that we might wonder if what we are doing can possibly make any difference. But Tom reminded us of 1st Corinthians 15:58:

58Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

We might not know what God will do with the work we are doing in Haiti, but we know it will not be in vain.