I am reminded of the beauty of this place. Strangely enough, amid the deep poverty, the smell of burning trash, the pollution, and the disregard for God’s creation there exists an uprising in this country. That uprising starts here at Jacob’s Well. All day long I have heard the team talk about the beauty of this place. The mountains are majestic, the land is green and fertile, and yet I am struck by the sounds and the sights that surround this place. For instance, the beating of voodoo drums, the live broadcast of soccer games over the airwaves, or the sounds of live cockfights in the village surrounding Jacob’s Well.
There have been many great things that have happened today. Kids standing at the roadside cheered us upon arrival and called us by our names, which they remembered from last year. It reminds me of how each of us, no matter how young or old, love to hear the sound of our own name. We’ve heard our kids say this is the prettiest place they’ve ever been, there is great food, plenty of laughter, and shiny new soccer balls in the field. We’ve watched our nurses and doctors treat patients all day long and our pharmacy dispense medications without tiring—babies, children, moms, and dads, are being treated for parasites, hypertension, skin and scalp disorders. Most encouraging is listening to what is happening to the hearts of our kids at cabin time—hearing stories about them swimming in the ocean yesterday, shampooing in salt water and loving every minute of it.
Today was an epic battle at Jacob’s Well. We are currently drilling our second water well—this one hopefully to 120 ft deep with a vision of giving water to the whole village. Right now there is no water flowing to the village – we have 5 gal water bottles being brought to us for drinking. The reality is that there is one man who controls the water for the village and this is about power, control and money. I was about 20 ft. from the entire board and “the man,” today. They were meeting with Gersan Valcin (from Jacob’s Well) and there was incredible passion. How I wish that I could understand French Creole! I have no idea how this is going, but I do know that the board is intimidated by the drilling because it is for the good of the people. The board members are not believers. They are educated people, but they have not discovered the transformational power of Jesus.
As I write Monday night at 10pm, there are a group of men (Jacob’s Well Staff) headed up to the cistern—a 5,000 gal. storage well. Gersan tells me that we could have water tomorrow. Could it really be? Could God have worked a miracle breakthrough today? I’ll know more about that tomorrow morning.
The great news is that God delivered us here safely. We got a political free pass through customs and we were ushered through without any bag checks or declaration of goods. It is good to have friends in this country—what a blessing. No sickness, no disagreements—all good feelings. We are ready to share the Gospel of Jesus today—to love kids and play hard, to be vessels of hope. There is a rainbow of hope that spans this village. God is good.
Next post: Healing And Hope in the Midst of Tragedy
