An excerpt from this month’s newsletter. The full newsletter is available at the bottom of this post.
In Haiti, it is customary to wear ones “Sunday’s best” when attending worship service. Even though most Haitians are extremely poor, they take great pride in their appearance for church services. Three piece suits, dress shirts and ties, and carefully crafted, beautiful dresses and brightly polished shoes are the rule. They may only have one set of Sunday clothes, but be assured… they are the best they can afford.
In these times of great social upheaval and lawlessness, wearing your finest can make you stand out from the crowd, and give the appearance of affluence and possible wealth. All are factors for attracting the attention of the criminals now freely roaming the city streets. Nowhere is the danger of assault, robbery and even murder more prevalent than in the streets of Carrefour. The danger of appearing well dressed in public is not keeping the congregation at Carrefour or any other GCMO congregation at home.
As Yvon Selin said, “The Church of Carrefour continues to carry out the mandate in the midst of seemingly chaos and social unrest. In the vicinity of Carrefour gangs are fighting each other in order to claim more territories. Thousands of people were forcibly displaced and their houses ransacked. Many are now living in the open air in a soccer stadium in the vicinity of Carrefour.” Yet they persevere!
Would we have similar faith? Would we dare to put on our “Sunday best” and walk crime ridden streets to worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ?
I’d ask everyone reading this newsletter to take time to say a prayer asking our Good Lord to insure the safety of our Haitian congregations and their pastors.
Read the full version of this month’s newsletter:
