“Hello. This is Berthan, have you forgotten me?”
“What? Who is this?” I replied into my office phone. It never rang. Why now? It must be a wrong number.
“Berthan. It is me. Have you forgotten me?” It was said so fast, with a powerful accent, and I was in the middle of something that I couldn’t think.
I panicked.
“I think you have the wrong number. I have to go.”
I hung up. Too busy to think about what had just happened. My mind in another place, thinking about something different, and only when things slowed down that day in Spring 2010 did it hit me.
Those words haunted me.
My heart raced for hours. I knew that voice. I wanted that call. It wasn’t a wrong number. It was a teenager I’d met in Port-au-Prince shortly after the earthquake.
We’d share a brief moment. I heard his story. I’d prayed with him. I’d even given him some money. His last words to me were, “Don’t forget me.”
And I’d just done what I’d promised him I would not, I’d forgotten him.
I messed up. I was ashamed at my panic. I am still ashamed of myself. I failed at such a simple request.
Remember me.
You and Me and Haiti
We cannot afford to forget Haiti.
In January 2010, we were awoken to the reality that the hemisphere’s poorest nation was stricken by a devastating earthquake. Generations of corrupt government and ineffective, unenforced building laws and wasted development dollars directly resulted in 220,000 people dying in an earthquake.
Our television screens displayed the human tragedy. It was as if a Hollywood apocalyptic descended on a city of millions, in real life.
Tens of thousands of people rushed to her aid. Billions of dollars were given. And for a while we never thought we could forget her.
But we did.
The last thing most people have heard about Haiti, 3.5 years later, is about a cholera outbreak. And that most of the big money has been wasted.
But largely we’ve moved on.
“Remember me.” She cries out across the Caribbean.
But do you remember?
We Will Not Forget
Next month I’m making my 4th trip to Haiti. And I’ve already got my 5th trip in the books.
What I’ve learned in my previous 3 trips is that there is a micro-story in Haiti about the earthquake. This story includes the corruption and the poverty and the systemic injustices of the West robbing Haiti of her wealth since Columbus’ time. It includes government stuff and NGOs doing development. That’s a story and one that bears some reflection.
But there is a macro-story that you and I cannot forget. In January 2010, God unleashed a movement on the people of Haiti that can only be called a revival. The church came alive as an agent of hope for the immediate needs created by the earthquake and has continued to grow as the agent of hope for a restored Haiti.
In January 2010, I heard story after story from new believers who heard, in an audible voice, the Lord calling them to Himself. As their world crumbled around them He made them new creations. In the tangled mess there was unbelievable joy.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here! ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17
In April 2013, I went back and saw the Lord continuing to lift His people up through the local church. The church we stayed at buzzed like a beehive with activity from the crack of dawn until late at night with people coming to the church for schooling and worship. It’s a place always at motion, full of life.
Remember me.
In just a few weeks I’m headed back to Haiti with Marko and his son Max to spend time with the team at Praying Pelican Missions. Over the past year or so we’ve built a ministry relationship with a simple goal: Informing and activating churches to get involved in what God is doing. It’s an understatement to say I’m excited, it’s literally an answer to prayer.
I will not forget. And I’m committed to helping you remember.
5 Reasons We Cannot Forget About Haiti
- Rebuilding was never about houses and roads and water. Sure, that’s part of it, but not what rebuilding is all about. Rebuilding Haiti is about restoring a people,witnessing what God is doing, and answering His call to come and learn from what He’s up to.
- I’m continuing to build relationships for you. Since 2010, I’ve connected churches and youth groups to ministry opportunities in Haiti. And I’m really excited to continue building those relationships through PPM, their network of Haitian churches and organizations. I was very impressed with the level of partnership I saw in April. It’s laser focused on ministry stuff. And this time I’m going back to spend time behind the scenes a little, plus spending extensive time with youth group teams from the States.
- There are nuts and bolts ways American churches, specifically teenagers, can help the local church rebuild Haiti. I’ve witnessed that we can partner with Haitian churches in a way that is more healthy than what you and I grew up thinking about missions, I’ll share more about this as we go.
- My worldview needs constant retuning, reshaping, and challenge. When I leave my own culture, even for just a few days, things are revealed to me which help me back home.
- God’s not done with me there yet. And I’m more and more convinced that He’s not done with you yet either. Each time I’ve left Haiti I’ve prayed that God would make it clear to me what I need to do as a result. And each time it’s been clear, “Come back and bring more.“
I refuse to forget. I chose to remember.
And I’m headed back July 20-25.
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