A Day (Or Four) Without Power
I had no idea how important an “inverter” is to run power to Haiti Home of Hope. I never really thought about how they pump water or how they get electricity here 24/7. I hear the generator running during the day and night, but honestly, it makes a great sound machine at night to drown out the noises. Four nights ago, that sound stopped. The inverter was toast, causing the ripple affect to happen immediately… no water, no lights, and no power. We all cranked up our lanterns and flashlights and hoped the generator would magically start back up again. Instead, the two husbands planned a quick trip to Port-au-Prince to purchase a new inverter. The Campbells had someone donate a week ago, the money ($3,000) to cover the cost of the inverter, most likely not expecting it to actually break a few days later. What a special miracle and I’m thankful and grateful for the person who made such a generous gift to the orphanage.
The first night without Roger here sleeping in our La Belle Maison was a little scary, I hate to admit. We live across the soccer field from the main house, but close enough to the boy’s dorm. We are on the 2nd floor, so I can hear and see everything from this height. I woke up at 5:00am to the sounds of roosters crowing, dogs barking, voodoo drums pounding, and a terrible crashing sound coming from the Campbell’s home. I realized at once that it sounded like someone was trying to break into their garage door. The banging and crashing of metal bars made my heart pound. I ran to the window and couldn’t see a thing in the darkness. I could hear one of the guard dogs whimpering and that made me nervous, too. They had been barking ferociously a few minutes before, but now silence. I had an important decision to make … run out in the darkness to find help at the boys dorm or run to the gate to find the guard. I didn’t particularly like any of my choices, but I had to make sure the girls were OK in the main house. I woke up Hannah to let her know as soon as the sun breaks over the mountain, I was going to make a run for it. She was sleepy, but brave and watched me scramble outside. I was soooo scared, but ran over to the dorm and called for Wisley, a wonderful young man who lives at HHH, immediately came to the rescue. We saw the guard with his lantern and dashed to the house. The crashing noise had stopped … hoping whoever had tried to break in had already run away. Jennifer’s window was open, so we called out to wake her up. The garage is located at the opposite side of the house, so it’s hard for her to hear any noise. We all took off to check out the damage to the garage door, and saw big holes pierced in the structure. It looked like someone had poked a stick or sharp objects in the hard plastic. We could hear Freddy (the family guard dog) whimpering and realized he was inside the garage. The closer we looked we realized the dog was the culprit who had panicked and tried to get out. Freddy had chewed several holes and tooth punctures showed the evidence. Freddy was the one who was trying to break OUT of the garage. Their crazy dog scared us and all he wanted was his potty break. We laughed so hard when we realized it was the dog, Freddy who caused all the damage to the door and our fear buttons.
The next four days we lived without power, and every night I had to face my fears about the dark. It’s creepy waking up hearing the voodoo drums and ritual wailing in the distance. As my family peacefully sleeps inside, the lost are outside worshiping evil. For some reason, living in Haiti magnifies that fear in my mind imagining things in an unfamiliar place. God has been so faithful. We all have times in our life that forces us to depend on Jesus for His power. I’m reminded in 1 John 4:4 as I pray for strength every day. As a follower of Jesus, I have power over darkness, “… for He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world.” I’m learning so much about spiritual warfare missionaries face every day, and night in Haiti.
You may not be coming face to face with witch doctors or working with people involved in voodoo, but you are in a battle today. What is your battlefield? Depression, a marriage that is one argument away from asking for a divorce, or an adoption that is stuck because of a stubborn government. Yes, we are all in a battle of some kind. But, as believers we get to keep moving forward having confidence that our God is greater. He is able. He is faithful. He can move mountain. He can heals broken hearts.
Father, let me walk today with the confidence that a child of the King should walk. Take my fears and give me your peace in knowing that you have already gone before me to pave the road for me. I acknowledge your power over darkness and anything that is trying to get in the way of (insert your battlefield here). I thank you now for the miracle, for the victory over (battlefield). In Jesus Name. Amen.
