Word to the World!

I stopped yesterday to really soak in the gift of what it means to be able to read my bible whenever I want.  The word of God is abundantly and instantly accessible to me.  I’m lavished with practically every form of bible reading/listening options possible...book form, audio via mp3, bible searches on my laptop, and even a bible application on my phone.  If I want the bible…I have the bible.   

That’s when it hit me hard.  Almost all of the people I know who live in the impoverished country of Haiti do not have access to the bible.  My heart has hurt for this need in their lives from the first time I met the Haitian people.  But something happened inside me yesterday that awakened my eyes to the severity of this need.  I was sitting on my sofa entertaining my husband, Trey, with all my unfiltered thoughts regarding this issue.  “I hate that Leon(the biological father of the twin girls we are adopting) doesn’t have a bible.  But even if he had a bible it wouldn’t  do him any good.  He can’t read.  Can you imagine not being able to read the Word whenever you wanted or needed to?  Leon and so many of the people in Nahum’s Village only get to hear parts of the bible in sermons at church service on Sundays.  Why don’t they just take notes at church?  Most of them cannot write and even if they can write they likely cannot afford paper and pencil so there is no note taking going on.  When the service ends, their opportunity to soak up the Word also ends.  They go back to their mud huts.  Perhaps some of them are filled with joy as they reflect on a portion of the Word that was just spoken to them.  They were likely blessed by this Word but as they go through the rest of their day, they find themselves straining to recall exactly what the verses said.  They press on to survive their tremendous physical hardships and have no choice but to wait 6 whole days to hear the next morsel of God’s Word the following Sunday.  This thought is too overwhelming!  What can we do?  They don’t have the bible.  Maybe we could download the Creole bible on an mp3?  But they don’t have electricity to charge them.  What about battery powered mp3 players?  Maybe we could take over tons of batteries but batteries are heavy and we have a weight limit and we can’t neglect the food and medical supplies we need to take....”  My husband listened to my audible thoughts with compassion and I sensed he too could taste the same desperate state of helplessness I was experiencing.  I stopped talking out loud at this point because I had no more solutions.  Every possibility I thought of was instantly deflated by the reality of the poverty stricken state these people live in.  Nothing is easy for them…completely vulnerable and defenseless…they can’t even read the bible.  With one of my many forms of bibles sitting next to me, tears welled up as I pressed my hand to my heart.  I knew there was not an emergency room for this kind of pain…the kind of pain that burns deep in your heart as a result of deep compassion and sorrow for the poor and needy.  Why had Jesus allowed me to become so close to such a broken people if He’s not going to provide me with the means to help them?  It’s in moments like this when I most passionately long to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling.   

Jesus, I have nothing to offer…please fix this mess!   

Poverty and illiteracy…the two are closely linked and very much define the Haitian people.  Here are some statistics for you:  Haiti is populated with close to 8 million people and nearly half of them cannot read or write, live with under $1.25 USD a day, and practice voodoo.      

These numbers are presented to us as statistics but we must remember each number represents a real live human...people created by God…people like you and me.  I’ve seen what this suffering looks like with my own eyes, yet it’s so unfathomable I still can’t really begin to explain it.  I’ve been face to face with some of them and formed relationships with them.  Some are poor, illiterate, and actively practicing voodoo.  The uncle of the twin baby girls we are adopting falls into this category.  Others are poor, illiterate Christians, and then a small handful are poor, literate Christians…these are our brothers and sisters.   

Regardless of their faith or ability to read and write, they are all linked together by a common denominator:  absolute poverty.   These people are not statistics to me.  They have become like our very own family. 

Hearing these statistics is one thing.  Staring into their faces...well, it just changes everything. 

A few hours had passed since my heart was shattered into a million pieces at the thought of the people at Nahum’s Village not having access to God’s word.  Now my husband was doing some work on his computer while I was reading.  Pastor Nahum messaged me to tell us good night so I took this opportunity to share my concerns with him about the people who go to his church and live in his village who do not have access to read a bible whenever they want to.  

 He replied, “Yes, but you know my country pitit mwen.”

His response caused the pain to intensify once again because he was right.  I do know his country.    

I asked him if he would get a head count of the people in his church who don’t own a bible but would like one.  Maybe more of them can read than I assume.  Somehow we have to get these people God’s Word.  He’s going to find out and let me know soon.

I was reading Pastor Nahum’s messages to Trey as they came through.  I thought he was still doing work on his computer when all of the sudden, Trey passed his laptop over to me and said, “Here you go.  Read this.” 

It was a ministry website titled, Faith Comes By Hearing.  There was a picture of a little black box that looked sort of like a radio and they call it the Proclaimer.  It’s solar powered and loud enough to be heard by groups as large as 300!  The Proclaimer was developed primarily as a playback device for poor and illiterate people who may not have any other source to hear God's Word. 

Photo credit by Faith Comes By Hearing website

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.  I had never heard of this proclaimer thing before but I knew it would be a huge blessing for Nahum's Village.  In that moment, Jesus himself was picking up the broken pieces of my hurting heart and mending them back together…restoring my hope.  It was as if I could hear Him say, “I also love the people you love in Haiti and My heart also breaks because they do not have access to My Word.   I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy (Psalm 140:12).” 

I called the 800 number from their website first thing this morning.  A very nice lady answered.  I explained to her our desire for Nahum’s Village to have access to the bible.  She told me the large proclaimers were not currently in stock due to the mass shipments made to Japan in light of their recent earthquake.  However, she said she could send me with 2 mini proclaimers which are loud enough for 50-80 people to hear God’s Word. 

If you missed the post explaining our upcoming trip to Haiti, you can click here to read it.  Now, in addition to those things, we will also be taking the bible via the proclaimer in audible form in the Haitian Creole language to our brothers and sisters who are hungry for the Word.  We will help them establish consistent listening sessions for the village people to come and listen to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  They no longer will have to wait for Sunday and it will not matter if they can’t read or write.   

Thank you, Jesus!  I know it will not be a magic fix or take away their physical sufferings, but this is the open door to reach hundreds of people at Nahum’s Village with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that is HUGE!  Word to your mother, brother, father, sister...Word to the world!  Romans 10:17 tells us, “faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.”  Through the Holy Spirit, lives are changed and we are praying for the power of God’s Word to sweep through Pastor Nahum’s village bringing salvation and hope to a broken world.  May voodoo worship fade into nothing as the people turn and put their trust in the One and Only True God! 

You can check out the faith comes by hearing ministry site here.  Maybe you are serving people in impoverished areas who would be blessed with a proclaimer too!