God Moment - Lynda Parlett - May 22, 2020
In June of 2010, I was in Haiti on a mission trip to an orphanage in Bohoc during which our group visited a church/feeding center out in the countryside. We found the church to be a tin-roofed shelter with two benches situated on a hillside with the mountains in the distance. It was beautiful! Standing there out of the blazing hot sun looking at the hills, the clouds and the mountains, I felt reverence for God’s creation, even in one of the poorest countries in the world.
Our group had brought rice, beans and vegetable oil (for extra calories) to cook and serve to the youngest children in the community, those from infancy through 6 years-of-age. One of several feeding centers operated by Matthew 28, the organization run by our friend Hein Vingerling, it provided three meals a week which was often the only meals these children ate. The children brought their own bowls and spoons (if they had spoons) for their meal. Once all of the youngest children were served, any leftover food was then distributed to older children.
As we were completing the cooking of the meal over a fire in the kitchen hut, the children and their families began arriving. They were all dressed in the very best clothes they had and they watched our Bible School puppet show while the meal was brought over to be served. They waited patiently until we had served every child and said a blessing then savored every single bite. Some older siblings looked on in obvious hunger, a number of them showing evidence of protein deficiency and malnutrition through the orange-tinted ends of their hair. Fortunately we were able to provide them with a serving as well.
The mother of a tiny infant asked if we would take a picture of Hein holding the baby (who appeared to be a premature newborn but was actually 5 months old). The mother explained that she wanted proof that the baby had been born in case it died of starvation (they had no birth certificates or other evidence of a baby’s birth in the countryside). With starvation the greatest threat to young children there, Hein gave the mother some of the water/oil from the beans and rice to feed the baby and a few spoons full of beans and rice for her own nutrition.
What struck me the most was the absolute simplicity of their place of worship and the extreme poverty in which they lived yet their hearts overflowed with love for the Lord and gratitude for the meager assistance that we had provided. As I think about the times we’re in now here in Sylva, NC with a pandemic causing us to modify how we’re living and causing some insecurities, I realize that the people of Haiti know this and even worse as their every day reality. The small villages of people in the countryside are spread far and wide. Their sources of water are often miles away and they must walk with whatever containers they have to bring water back for drinking and cooking. Their food sources are insecure- the growing of crops on the volcanic soil is completely dependent upon regular rain which becomes rarer as the season progresses. They must protect what they can harvest from rats and other animals. Their health is always threatened. Yet, they are thankful for what they have and they draw strength from God and one another.
I am thankful for having had this experience and for the lessons it has renewed for me during these unsteady times. I am thankful for my church family with whom I can share this story and am confident that we’ll all be back together sometime soon. With prayers for everyone here at home and around the world….