A Glimpse of Mi Vida...

It started with a missions trip to Camden, where my life and perspective were changed and where this blog began. Life has been a roller coaster filled with its ups and downs and I'm excited for the adventure and discovering what God has in store, even though I really dislike roller coasters... I am a Lady in Waiting...

Monday, July 22, 2013

Hotel California of Haiti

There we stood in this prison as we talked with a man in jail. He was suicidal and missing a purpose in life. The team I was travelling with began sharing the word with him.

As I tried to listen, I was interrupted by an officer talking to us in the doorway. He was an officer of the prison located right next door to the voodoo temple.

He asked if I had heard of the Hotel California. I smiled and said yes, I know the song and that I am from California. He began to describe the voo doo temple as their Hotel California. It is just a place they visit. That we had nothing to be scared of, that they pray to a saint or a spirit.

However, you could feel a heaviness in his words. He is so lost and so blinded to the truth of Christ.

You would never know that the building below is a voo doo temple and inside they worship a porcelain doll.

A piece of the story about voo doo in Haiti is that in Anse-a-foleur there was a cross on the hillside and it was struck by lightning. They believed that it was them being punished and that a porcelain doll fell from the sky unbroken. They believe in the doll and it's ability to heal. It is Ste. Anne. Pronounce Saint Anne... or if you put it together... Satan. The don't see it as related to the devil, but rather as a spirit or something to do or believe it. They are so lost and so blind.

Below is an excerpt from my journal entry right after we exited the temple:

"We just got done touring the voo doo temple and it was so overwhelming- I felt such a heavy weight on my heart, it felt as if I was having a panic attack. I prayed the whole walk through the temple and was overcome with emotions. They (the Haitians)  are so lost there and confused- they were prepping animas for sacrifice. Two chickens and a goat that they cleansed. They worship a doll. A baby doll that they believe fell from the sky.

When we believe in Jesus who came as a baby but Chris is real to us and He bled out for our sins.

The rooms we walked through were so heavy- one open area and hallway was crowded with people and they were preparing animals. Apparently the 25th and 26th of every month they sacrifice animals.

Anse-a-foleur is the voo doo capital of the world. As we walked up the stairs to where they were worshiping the doll I felt so much sadness and had tears in my eyes.

They are so lost- so fearful- they pray out of fear for healing. I prayed for protection that they would know truth and would be pulled from the darkness. People had tears of fear in their eyes.

My prayers and their strength in the darkness made me weep and feel like I was having a panic attack."

There is definitely a cloud of darkness that covers the town and parts of Haiti.

As I prayed through the voo doo temple, I thought of TiStevenson. His skin is marked because he was taken to a voo doo doctor and burned because he wasn't growing and they tried to burn the curse out of him. TiStevenson is five years old and has dwarfism and doesn't have a thyroid. He is not cursed but is a beautiful boy who I got to love on.




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