Demen (Tomorrow)

A beautiful thing about Haitian culture has to do with the word "demen" meaning "tomorrow". You will seldom hear this word by itself. Most of the time it will be accompanied with a wonderful phrase: if God wants. The absolute reliance on the will of God in using this phrase amazes me. I have been considering this phrase lately-especially since the sudden passing of Sam-Mya. Life is fragile. So very fragile. We don't know when our time here on earth will come to a close or when a family member or friend will pass away. When we make plans for tomorrow, it should be for tomorrow if God wants.

Yesterday, Al and I attended Sam-Mya's funeral. The church seats 3,000 people. There was no room to sit. People from all over south Haiti and beyond these boarders came to grieve with Pastor Samson and his family. I was shocked to read in the program that Pastor Samson would be giving the meditation. I prayed for God to give him strength as he stood up to begin surrounded by some leaders of the church.

He stood and spoke with the power of God. His message was clear. We can either resist the will of God or accept it. He was choosing to accept it. His daughter was in the arms of her Creator and he was going to accept that this was God's will. He was choosing to believe that God is God and the whole time we were praying for Sam-Mya, we were praying for His will to be done. And it was.

He preached that God is still God and preached the Gospel clearly. He offered to pray for people who wanted and needed to know Jesus. And he ended with a song that is a song of declaration: I Believe. He sang with such conviction and the congregation joined in. Tears came to my eyes. He did believe and he is clinging to his God whose will was done.

This morning, at church, Pastor Samson showed up and surprised the congregation at the end of the early service. He got up and asked again if there was someone who needed to know Jesus today. He said that you can live without Jesus, but do not die without Him. He sang the song again. It says, "Lord, I believe You are God...I believe you died. I believe You rose again. Yes, I believe You are the Master of life....Yes, I believe You have all the power."

So, two things to think about today--two things to encourage you:
1. Tomorrow if God wills.
2. Do you believe?

James 4:13-15
Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"-yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."

Prayers for Two Families

Yesterday seemed to never end and neither did the endless string of emotions.  Yesterday, two people moved on in two very different ways and I am requesting that you pray for these two circumstances.

First, Almando's sister, Suze Jean Louis with her son Micke moved away from next door to a country far away.  They moved to Chile where Suze's husband Maxen has been living for the past year.  It was a tearful goodbye yesterday because the whole family was together and we don't know when we will all be together again, but we know that it is better for her to be with her husband so they can be a family.  Almando brought her to the airport with the other three brothers while I stayed here.  It was a good thing they got there early because there were problems getting through the airport due to communication issues and lack of information.  When it was all said and done, Suze and Micke boarded a plane bound for Panama then Chile and none of us had dry eyes. 

We got word this morning that Suze, Micke, and Maxen were finally together as a family.  They made it safely!  There were cheers in this house this morning when everyone knew they were safe.  

Please continue to pray for Suze, Micke, and Maxen because there will be a lot of adjustments happening in the coming weeks.  Suze does not speak Spanish in a Spanish speaking country.  Seven month old Micke met his dad for the first time this morning.  Maxen has not seen Suze since March, 2012.  Pray that their transition into family life would be smooth and that God would be glorified through them.  Pray for Almando's family too.  Micke is the first grandchild for Al's parents and Suze is their only daughter.  Please pray for peace and comfort for them.  There is joy in this moving on.  There is sadness too.

Next, Sam-Mya, Pastor Samson's daughter--who my last blog post was about--passed away yesterday.  The news came to us late last night and it was shocking.  Just under 2 weeks ago she was a happy, healthy, beautiful young woman and now she is a happy, healthy, beautiful young woman in the arms of God.  The doctors have no idea what sickness did this to Sam-Mya, but God knows.  Knowing Sam-Mya, her siblings, her mom and her dad has been a blessing to me and now my heart goes out to her family.  It breaks for her mom.

Please be praying for Pastor and Madame Samson and their 3 other children.  Sam-Mya will be missed by them enormously.  Her joy and laughter in their house was infectious.  This lovely woman won't be forgotten.  There is joy in this moving on--she is in the arms of God  and no longer suffering.  There is sadness too for those left behind.

These two families need your prayers in the coming weeks and months.  If you have a prayer list, put them on it and pray for them often.  Thank you, brothers and sisters in Christ, for your willingness to pray.

Looking Back

Today, I have been reflecting some on my time here in Haiti.  I can't believe that it has been two and a half years already.  God is so good and faithful.  He has blessed me in so many ways with wonderful friends and family down here.  One of those people is my reason for looking back today.

Sam-Mya is the daughter of Pastor Samson--if you have been following my blog since the beginning, you will know that I lived with Pastor Samson and his family for about 4 months during my first year here.  When I was living with Sam-Mya, she was always a bundle of energy and joy.  She was incredibly dedicated to her studies (she was finishing up high school at the time) and was active in church.  I loved greeting the family when I returned home after a long day of work.  Sam-Mya would jump up and greet me with "Bonswa, Cassie" and gave me a "mwuah" kiss on the cheek.  I love this girl!

She is on my mind today because she is in the hospital and not doing well.  From what I understand, she went into the hospital late Tuesday night with seizures after a stressful first year of medical school.  She has now been transferred two times to different hospitals and her family is prayerfully waiting for answers.  She is still not talking.  

I am telling you this today because I want you to pray for this wonderful girl.  I am hoping to go see her tomorrow with Almando and pray with her family.  We know that all things are in God's mighty hand and He has her in His hand now.  Please pray for her and Pastor Samson and his family.  

Thank you for not only supporting us in prayer, but for lifting up Sam-Mya as well.