The Ultimate Contrast

Possibly the only thing sweeter than welcoming 142 children to a summer camp based on Biblical teaching and the love of Christ was the knowledge that the vast majority of those children would have spent those three days learning about the worship of Satan if they had not been at Camp D’ete.

Last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, FPSM hosted its first summer camp on the property in Milot.  On Sunday, as a culmination of the three days of camp, we opened the chapel for a church service which celebrated the 29 children who prayed to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior during the camp.  Also taking place during those four days, in the nearby town of Plain Du Nord, was one of the largest annual voodoo festivals in all of Haiti.

Each morning and each afternoon as we traveled to and from the property, our truck waded through crowds of people who had gathered together to worship Satan and to learn more about the practice of voodoo.  One afternoon, our truck literally drove past a bull that was on its way to be sacrificed as part of the voodoo tradition, which still condones the practice of human sacrifices at times.  In this instance, the people had gathered to behead the bull so that they could then drink its blood and eat its raw meat in order to prevent their own death, according to the voodoo belief.

As someone who does not believe in coincidences, I was profoundly struck by the irony of the timing.  Here we had gathered 142 children to play, to offer them a warm & nutritious meal, and to teach them about the love of Jesus Christ and the new life that He offers.  Literally in the next town over, hundreds of people were gathering to celebrate a belief system that is based in death and rooted in fear.  Many of the parents of the children in summer camp were attending the voodoo festival while their children were at camp.  There is something incredibly encouraging about experiencing the life-giving truth of Jesus Christ in real time.  Especially when we are hit with the reality that these children would have been learning about voodoo at the same time that we were given the privilege of introducing them to Jesus Christ.

On behalf of all of us who had the honor of participating in the trip to Haiti, thank you for your prayers on our behalf.  Isn’t it just like Jesus to ordain a summer camp in real time that exemplifies the battle that is waging for the hearts and minds of these people?  The battle is real and we are honored to be on the front lines, and to rest in the knowledge of the final outcome.

Please pray for the hearts of those 29 children who came to faith in Christ while attending camp.  And please join us in prayer for their parents, that they, too, would be open to receiving the truth of God’s love and the eternal life that He offers.

It is a privilege to be in this battle together.  Our God is sovereign in His timing, and tender in His mercy.