A New Song Arising: The Former “Voodoo Capital of the World”, The Earthquake BUT Now The Spirit of the Lord & The Beautiful Children of Haiti (“Ayiti”)!
2010 – Rock Slipping Upward under Léogâne , “The Voodoo Capital of the World”
On January 12, 2010 at 4:53 PM a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, which was soon followed by aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5 magnitude, left a country in ruins and a people in crisis.
“The earthquake was generated by contractional deformation along the Léogâne fault, a small hidden thrust fault discovered underneath the city of Léogâne. Many geologists contend that the earthquake resulted from the slippage of rock upward across its plane of fracture. Being so close to the epicentre, the city of Léogâne was essentially leveled.” (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
It was estimated that some three million people were affected by the quake—nearly one-third of the country’s total population. Death toll estimates ranged as high as 316,000, and it has been reported that tens of thousands of children were orphaned during or as a result of the after-effects of the earthquake.
The Lord directed us to take our final team Mission Haiti trip to Léogâne as our/His touchpoint for the epicentre of the earthquake and He specifically directed us to an amazing woman of God and the work He was doing through her via Lespri Haiti Mission, a very unique & special orphanage and brand new elementary school.
Hearing the stories of the voodoo festivals that are held in Léogâne, knowing that Léogâne was the center structural root of the 2010 earthquake, and sensing the Lord’s love for and call to Haiti, a sudden very strong impression emerged – it was like the earth had responded and spewed out the false worship system. I by no means make light of the many lives lost and ongoing devastation experienced but we are in a spiritual battle to redeem the earth and the earth is groaning (Rom. 8:18-22).
Three Keys
Three of the keys the Lord showed us for the restoration of His glory was the uprooting of a tree, the healing of the land, and education for the children. So our assignments were: first to Léogâne where we would be able to stand in the gap for repentance for false worship; then to pouring out our lives into the life of a young aspiring agronomist; and then to sowing our hearts, our prayers, our prophetic declarations into the heart of Haiti’s future – her children & the laborers in the Education Mountain.
Seeing Through Rosemerry’s Eyes – Her First Mission Trip
Charlotte Mason, Narration & Fine Arts
Charlotte Mason (1842-1923) was a Christian Educator who believed that children are uniquely made by God and need to have the gifts and talents that are resident inside them nurtured by the adults around them. Exposure to a broad education including fine arts and literature, especially using narration, were some of the key ingredients she used in developing Christian-based education suitable for all children.
The trip to Haiti in April was an opportunity to share the love of the Lord through interacting with and encouraging the teachers and students in three schools located in: Léogâne , Grande Saline and Archaie. We believe that Haiti’s future is her children. The initial reason behind sharing Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education with the schools in Haiti was to share a curriculum that was Christ centered as well as honoring to children as little people with mighty gifts and callings from the Lord.
In planning the trip, the team wanted to also interact with the children and bless them. One of the ways we did that was by bringing a craft that would be fun for the children – a step towards fine art – and would also give the team a chance to personally share our love for them. And as much as we could, we also wanted to pray for, prophesy over, and worship with the children in each place.
The process of sharing the Charlotte Mason’s philosophy across languages was an amazing experience where the hand of the Lord was very evident. Our guide/translator/friend/aspiring agronomist Schneider was one of the highlights for me as he immediately became enthused at the opportunity he said he always wanted – to have a dialogue with the teacher v. just one-sided instruction.
Lespri Haiti Mission – Worship & Prayer, Narration & Prophecy
Home of Joy – Worship & Prayer
Elementary School – Narration & Prophecy
Lespri Artwork done later using supplies we left behind
Grande Saline – The Journey, Narration, Self-Portraits & Prayer
The Journey
Grande Saline was a 3-1/2 hour journey from where we were staying in Port-au-Prince. We past a bridge that was out which did not stop people from traveling whether on foot, by tap-tap or other vehicles. We also past open air markets and other shopping districts along the way full of activity. And then we turned to head towards what would surely be the edge of a cliff; but we kept driving, driving and drove some more. We finally began to see villagers out in these remote areas and the prophetic picture our intercessors had seen several days before unfolded before our eyes: the Lord highlighted to us how the Haitians were smart, intuitive and hard working.
Narration
Self-Portraits & Prayer Tunnel
Good Shepard Orphanage at Archaie
Our Friend Schneider and the World’s Best Driver Eddie
As I reflect on Charlotte Mason and how Godly & life-giving her approach is, I realize how important the trip was. We opened a door for the Lord to draw Haiti’s children closer to Himself so He could more fully nurture these young leaders that will change Haiti for the better!
Prayers
Prayer in Léogâne
A core part of the trip involved praying over the area of Léogâne. We invited The Presence of the Lord into the area through Worship and Declarations of His Power, Majesty, Righteousness, Goodness and Glory. Several impressions included the transition of song, worship and dance that had been captured in false worship to being purified & restored back to the Lord along with a new release of the River of Holy Spirit through power evangelism. We were blessed to also be able to pray for the congregation and the pastors of Elaine’s church – these folks will be some of the key ones that the Lord is going to use to release His River & His Power!
Meanwhile, our intercessors stateside also: prayed against the orphan spirit and loosed a spirit of adoption; released prophecy and revelation; released the dance to open the portals of heaven that Haiti may receive all that the Lord has for them; and loosed an understanding of God as a loving father not an angry judge. One intercessor saw the rug being pulled out from under the religious spirit that would keep in place lies about the Lord’s true goodness. Another saw spiritual famine and a need for spiritual manna and heard & prayed ‘blow mighty breath of God over the land’. Others prayed for Elaine’s school and that The Lord of the harvest would raise up equippers and laborers .
Prayer in Pétionville
We spent some time at a restaurant in Pétionville which has an overlook. The team has tried to go there on every trip as it has a watchman-type vantage point of Haiti which is ideal for releasing prayers and declarations. We were able to pray from there into Haiti’s rescue through the children and the turnaround in the government.
Our intercessors also prayed about the huge oil reserves being opened up to bring prosperity – that godly oil men and godly Haitian government leaders would come together and get this accomplished in a way that wouldn’t harm the land, and that the citizens would put away their distrust and fear of it being done incorrectly. They prayed against corruption and greed on every front and prayed that anointed prophetic/seer-type intercessor-laborers would be raised up to breakthrough to shift the atmosphere and transform the nation as had been done in Guatemala. They also prayed about the strengthening of the ties between Haiti and Israel: some of the first people to respond after the quake were the IDF, who also started a school for the kids in Pétionville. One intercessor saw a big sword going into the middle of Haiti like the Excalibur and they prayed for a righteous leader to come forth and remove it from the stone and wield it properly.
A New Song Arising!
As our intercessors said some of their final prayers for this journey – for unity of the prayer warriors, awakening of the spiritual mothers and fathers, and that the Lord would invade every orphanage with His Presence – they also made Isaiah’s prayer for Jerusalem, their decree for Haiti:
Isaiah 62:1-4
62 Because I love Zion, I will not keep still. Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I cannot remain silent. I will not stop praying for her until her righteousness shines like the dawn, and her salvation blazes like a burning torch. 2 The nations will see your righteousness. World leaders will be blinded by your glory. And you will be given a new name by the Lord’s own mouth. 3 The Lord will hold you in his hand for all to see— a splendid crown in the hand of God. 4 Never again will you be called “The Forsaken City” or “The Desolate Land.” Your new name will be “The City of God’s Delight” and “The Bride of God,” for the Lord delights in you and will claim you as his bride.
Watch this Video of Worship at Archaie: ArchaieDorisWorship
Pure Love
Please consider supporting these ministries and support organizations for their ongoing work in Haiti:
Elaine Rensink & Lespri Haiti Mission – A Mighty Woman of God & A Mighty Work!
SUNY Broome – Health for Haiti & Harmony for Haiti
The Smithsons & Hope Rising – One of the impressions I got as we visited with the Smithsons, which was our first guesthouse stay, was the sense that the missionaries and teachers were like one of those hoses that allows the water to sink slowly and deeply into the ground. They are really giving day by day into the lives of the children. Just like plants, it takes time to nurture these young people into adulthood. Thank God these families have answered the call to long term missions.
The Good Shepard Orphanage (COBBA) – a family that returned to Haiti to help. Dad (Pastor) Estinfil had even retired but came back to care after the children.
Missionaries for the Heart of Jesus – our dear friends and the ones who started us on our journey
Although we will not be sending teams into Haiti in our next season, we are continuing to support training of two teachers for Grande Saline as well as praying for all of the glorious work going on throughout Haiti!
Rosemerry Blash is one of RHM’s Senior Leaders and is the Visionary/Director of Daystar Arising Academy, a Christian K-3 school founded to support homeschool families.
There is a New Song Arising!