A good reminder...from Haitians

This week Prudence and Pradell visited the United States from Haiti.  They visited two of their children attending university here.  I met Prudence, who runs the Bethesda medical clinic in Cap Haitian, Haiti when I went on a mission trip there 2 1/2 years ago.  At the time, I just remember her joy as she showed us around her clinic.  Despite women waiting with malnutrioned babies, those who could not afford an x-ray to be part of the government program, those who were wheeled in a wheelbarrow because they could not walk the miles to the clinic she kept a smile on her face.  She knew that she could not save them all, but they could do their best to try. 

As Prudence spoke to the church today, it was such a good reminder about why we are Christians.  She says that she is servant of Christ first and a nurse second.  I asked her how she keeps her joy.  She readily answered with a smile on her face that she prays three times a day -- once in the morning, 5 minutes at noon, and at night to thank God.  And, she added, "you can have this joy, too, if you ask God.  God gives this to me."  Pradell didn't speak much English, but another person from the church commended him as the reason that Prudence is so strong.  Pradell pastors a church that takes an hour by vehicle plus another 2 hours to walk there.  There is so much witchcraft there that hearing the good news of Jesus Christ truly does save them from a life of treachery.  Prudence goes along to treat those that she can.  They said that being a Pastor in Haiti can be a dangerous job because the people rely on them for not just spiritual needs, but physical needs as well.  And when asked about what they thought about Christmas in the United States, they had never seen lights on houses for Christmas.  She said that the Haitians have no money so they do the best thing and go to church to worship God.  She said to decorate our hearts and not our houses.  I was so inspired by them, not only the spirit within them, but they as a couple, you could see just how much they were two servants of God serving God together.