Save A Seat…Keep Satan Under Their Feet

As many of you know –  we planted the Mole Campus in 2010 –  just 5 months after the devastating earthquake. My husband was in PAP when it happened. He was there to unload a shipping container of mission supplies. He was actually IN the 40-foot metal container when it happened.

I remember thinking about the hundreds of thousands of people who died – whose voices were silenced in a moment. People who never knew Jesus. People who were “this close” to knowing Him… BUT….that person who was going to tell them  – well they were dragging their feet. They thought there was more time. Let’s be honest. We ALL thought there would be more time.

I remember praying and weeping with our staff in St. Louis du Nord as news would come in about their loved ones who had perished.

I remember hearing constantly through the tears & anguish….

• I thought I had more time. I was going to share Jesus with my ________  (fill in the blank – mom/brother/sister/cousin/etc). BUT it was just too uncomfortable to start that conversation.
• I thought I had more time. I was going to say I was sorry and make amends with _______ (fill in the blank). BUT  I  just wasn’t quite ready to let it go.
• I thought I had more time. I was going to tell my ________ (fill in the blank) that I loved them. BUT I just didn’t have the courage to do it yet.
• I thought I had more time. I was going to go and visit my ________ (fill in the blank). BUT I was just too busy.

I was going to….but
I was going to….but
I was going to….but

Don’t you just hate it when your “but” gets too big and in the way? Especially when you were “this close” to making a huge impact.

I had spent most of my life in St. Louis du Nord. But I never really felt like a missionary if I’m going to be honest. I felt like a resident. I may have even been a campus brat! Right? Such a stretch to imagine!

I went to Nursing School while everyone else in my family went to Bible College. I mean I was 9 years old the first time I held a baby who died in my arms due to malnutrition. I mean I KNEW before I was 10 that I was called to serve Haiti medically. I graduated high school in 3 years…. just so I could move on to get my BSN, RN  …. you know – so I could get to Haiti even sooner and begin my pediatric clinic.

So imagine my surprise when the earthquake happened and God began to knock on my heart that it was time to do something that I wasn’t really “ready” to do. It’s funny when you say to God – USE ME – and then when He starts to place the call – we keep hanging up. Here’s a little bit about the struggle we went through when we knew God was calling us to do something bigger than us – https://lifeoffering.org/2010/04/07/we-will-follow-wherever-you-lead/

***

So we moved to Mole St Nicolas about 5 months after the earthquake and planted the Mole Campus. We spent our first 5 years using an old military tent as our church. It’s one thing when your campus is under construction and you are using a tent. It’s another thing when every other building is standing and you are STILL in a military tent…..one that’s even been burned several times by voodoo services.

In the spring of 2015 we were blessed by a church in Michigan with the funding to build our new church! AND on New Year’s Day we held our first service! Shortly afterwards  – that military tent came tumbling down! Well sort-of. Here’s the full story: https://molehaiti.org/2016/01/11/tear-down-this-tent/

***

God put it in our hearts to move to the Mole – so we could reach the lost there. AND now that we are here – we are even more compelled by God to continue that search for the lost alongside Him. If the earthquake has taught us anything –  it’s that we can’t waste anymore time…..we are not guaranteed tomorrow.

Our church is built – but there’s some “finishing touches” still left to be completed. The floor is very rugged, there’s still plastering that needs to be done on the outside, & there’s some minor cosmetic work to do on the inside.

In Haiti – at most church services and revivals – there’s usually a time of repeating praises out loud together –  with hands raised high –  waving their arms back and forth!

One of the phrases they often repeat is: anba pye’m satan  – which means UNDER MY FEET SATAN! It’s a reminder that God has the power and satan is SO low -so powerless –  he’s under our feet.

While the new church is twice the size of the tent – at the time we built it – we could not afford to add more seating. We are sitting on 6-year-old handmade wooden benches. Half the time we mistake the movement of the Holy Spirit for someone who just sat on a loose nail or got a nasty splinter!

Sunday School starts at 8am and then goes right into regular church service which is roughly 9-12pm. That’s FOUR HOURS sitting on a hard wooden bench…. one that’s got twice as many people sitting on it than should be. It’s hard to humbly sit at the feet of Jesus when there’s standing room only.

We need to give these folks a chair! They need a place to sit so they can let their feet rest upon the head of the evil one….. while their minds stay focused on the life-giver.

• Would you be willing to pull up a chair for a granmoun who struggles to even make the walk to church?
• Would you make room for a husband and wife new to Jesus to sit with each other?
• Would you offer a seat to one of our members who walked 2 hours from Kapafu just to join us?
• Can you give rest and refuge to the momma who managed to wrangle all 8 children to church?

Could you help me purchase 200 folding chairs for the church?

With folding chairs we have more possibilities of utilizing the church space for other types of ministry – instead of having benches that are too heavy to move around.

It’s hard enough to concentrate when you’re hot and hungry. If we can at least take away the distraction of crowded hard benches, we stand a better chance of them staying long enough to really hear the Word.

We would like to buy the chairs in Port-au-Prince. To buy and transport to the Mole – we need $30.00/chair. 

“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.” Romans 16:20

Help us bring rest to the weary so that they may stand in praise and crush satan beneath their feet.