Do you remember the old, really old man with one leg? He came to church today with two legs! Well, that is, his leg and a temporary prosthesis. He was walking with the prosthesis with the help of two crutches. He was really excited about the new leg, as to be expected. I noticed how other people in church watched as he walked down the aisle after church. Apparently the therapists at the clinic have taken special interest in him, due to his advanced age and determination. Please pray for Elli as he continues physical therapy and learns to use this artificial leg.
Archive for the ‘July’ Category
I’ve gotten more confirmation that the Haitian singer, Azor, who died during the Voodoo festival was in fact not only a fan of Voodoo, but was a priest. I heard three Haitians each tell me that he is known to have traveled to Africa to gain advanced knowledge of how to conduct Voodoo. You notice the article I forwarded in a blog did not mention those details!
I wanted to give you a final report on the Voodoo Festival in Saut d Eau. Everybody is gone now, except for some people still visiting relatives in the area. All that is left is the trash, which is fatra in Creole. I’ve always hated the abundance of trash you can see on the streets throughout Haiti, but that’s another rant.
I sent a news report about the four people who died while visiting the waterfalls, the high “sacred” spot for Voodoo adherents. There was a huge crowd of people in the waterfall area at the time of the accident. Some of the people were talking that the accident and the deaths was an indication that God was angry with their Voodoo, while others saw it as an indication that Satan or the evil spirits were not satisfied with the Voodoo sacrifices that they had been providing. As a result of that accident some people were refusing to go back up to the waterfall area and others were saying that they would not return to Saut d Eau next July.
The death that you may not have heard about is one that occurred after the death of the four people. The people in Saut d Eau reported that there was a famous Voodoo person from Port Au Prince who came to Saut d Eau for the height of the festival. While he was visiting the waterfall he said he felt ill. He asked to go back to the house in town where he was staying. But by the time he arrived at that house he was feeling much worse, some reported that he was vomiting blood. So he was taken to a hospital in Port Au Prince. He died, either en route to the hospital or upon arrival! Some of the people here in Saut d Eau state that he was a Voodoo priest,while articles on the internet said he was a Haitian singer who sang about Voodoo. He is known as Azor. (I will post a separate blog with a news report of his sudden death.)
Add to those deaths the deaths that occurred during last year’s festival. Apparently last year some Voodoo “big wigs” came to Saut d Eau proclaiming they were going to “take back Saut d Eau for Satan”. While engaged in the killing of a cow that had been offered to Satan, witnesses said that something like a bolt of electricity came from no where and killed one of the priests. At that time, two other Voodoo priests, vying for control, got into a fight with knives of some sort and either killed or severely wounded one another. So in two consecutive years,there have been a number of high level Voodoo priests who have died while attending Haiti’s most well-known Voodoo pilgrimage festivals! Meanwhile, the Christians in the area continue to pray that Saut d Eau be known as a place for God, not for Satan or Voodoo.
Haitian Singer and Drummer Azor has died: state funeral today
Lénord Fortuné, Azor, singer and drummer for the band Racine Mapou de Azor passed away on July 16 at the young age of 46. The singer, who had just performed at Saut d’Eau as part of the celebrations of the Feast of Mont Carmel, was taken to the hospital at Bernard Mevs, where he died during the night.
His national funeral is under way in Port-au-Prince, where a peristyle and platforms have been erected in front of the Museum of the National Pantheon, which will serve as a temple to give the last farewell to a man whose music has been described as embodying the soul of the nation.
Yesterday an artistic vigil in his honor was held at the Champ de Mars, from 6pm to midnight, drawing more than thirty artists. Gracia Delva, the president of the Commission on Culture, Communication and Tourism, paid tribute to the artist in Parliament.
Today, Azor’s body arrived on the Champ de Mars on a horse-drawn carriage, where the singer was posthumously decorated by Michel Martelly. Rasin Mapou performed in honor of their founder before the body left for the Pax Villa crematorium.
The popular musician was one of the virtuosos of traditional music and a tireless ambassador of Haitian culture. With the music of Vodou ceremonies as his foundation, Racine Mapou de Azor toured the world helping his audiences discover the value of the music of the lakous and its link to Haitian identity.
In his remarks today, Martelly praised the courage and talent of Lénord Fortuné and sent condolences to his family and all those who knew him, for whom his music was a ritual of reassurance.
Azor had been a member of several bands of konpa (SS One and Scorpio) and folklore (Bakoulou group), before joining “Racine Kanga de Wawa”. With Wawa, Azor started to play Vodou music in concert, shifting it from the Vodou ounfò to the live stage. His success with “Racine Mapou de Azor” contributed to the recognition of Vodou as an integral part of Haitian culture, and the acceptance of the African and rural part of Haitian identity.
From this perspective, the members of the band, who are Vodou practioners, explicitly joined the traditions and symbolic universe of Vodou. They aspire to maintain contact with the roots of their traditions and with the sacred mapou trees whose imposing roots are known for sheltering the spirits.
“Racine Mapou de Azor” plays traditional music or pure rasin, i.e. without modern arrangements or electric instruments. Their music is marked by the tireless beat of the drums of petro inspiration. Azor’s own voice, now silenced, evoked the voice of the Vodou oungan or priest, and accompanied by a chorus of women’s voices, celebrated the Vodou spirits or lwa.
WHILE SOME IN SAUT D EAU TELL ME HE WAS A VOODOO PRIEST, THIS ARTICLE DOES NOT MENTION THAT
Tonight we are hosting some visitors at the mission house here in Saut d Eau. Wayne Golden, with Global Intercessory Prayer Ministry has been ministering in Haiti for several years. We learned about him when a member of the recent medical team, Courtney Garner, met him on a flight to Haiti. His ministry involves linking Haitian churches with American churches to pray for one another. He is also working to distribute huge amounts of Creole Bibles to the Haitian people. He has a website, if you would like to learn more.
Rick Astle is a friend with Wayne. In addition to ministering with Mr. Golden, Rick has his own ministry. He is an author and speaker. He is in demand speaking to people on the importance of prayer. You can check out his website, which is Rickastle.com, I”m pretty sure.
A third American with us is Phyllis Elvington. If you are interested, she also has a website, phylliselvington.com. She is a frequent speaker and is also a Christian author. And as an aside, she has a son who can run a mile in under 4 minutes! That means he’s really fast! Hopefully he’ll try out for the Olympics.
And then there’s Jasper, don’t know his last name. He’s a Haitian interpreter. He has a wonderful testimony of how he got converted about 12 years ago after being a drug addict in Port Au Prince for several years. He had been living in the US for the past few years but several months ago returned to Haiti, simply because he feels strongly that God wants him to be here!
We are honored to have people of such caliber spending the night with us. Pray for them, because tomorrow they will be traveling to southern Haiti, which is a long drive. They will be stopping along the way, at three different locations, to speak to Voodoo priests with whom Mr. Golden has gotten acquainted. He is hoping to see these Voodoo priests get converted, maybe even tomorrow.
So, thank you Courtney for putting us in touch with Mr. Golden.
Here is the news report that you may have read:
4 Voodoo pilgrims die in Haiti in boulder accident
AP – 2 hrs 19 mins ago
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A doctor in Haiti says four pilgrims died when a boulder fell on them on the peak day of a three-day Voodoo festival.
Dr. Pierre-Marie Cherenfant says the pilgrims were under a waterfall at the sacred site of Saut d’Eau when the accident happened Friday.
Thousands flock to Saut d’Eau every year to atone for their sins as they strip to their underwear and bathe in the pounding cascade and tree-lined waters.
Believers say the rural community is where a Voodoo-rendition of the Virgin Mary once appeared. ***(end of article)
There were lots of Voodoo people walking up the street passed the mission property today. There were also lots of other people going to the waterfall to be in the cool water here in hot Haiti. We heard that four people died at the waterfall, as this report indicates. It was a few hours between us hearing about the deaths until people saw vehicles past the mission with the bodies. Apparently one was a boy in his early teens. I’m not sure if the people who died were practicing Voodoo at the time or were just playing in the waterfall.
As a result of this accident I’ve heard that some people have said that they don’t want to come back to Saut d Eau for the festival. But apparently others saw what happened as an indication that some Voodoo spirits were angry, perhaps with the extent of the sacrifices that have been offered. Therefore what happened proves to those people that in fact the spirits have power that can perhaps be accessed.
Yes, they are apparently doing animal sacrifices. I’ve seen a few animals being led up or down the road by Voodoo people. They take the animals,whether a cow, goat or maybe a sheep, up to the waterfall with bright colors draped across its back. I don’t know what they do while at the waterfall, but then they come back down the hill to downtown where they kill the animal. I heard tonight that a cow was sacrificed while still alive! In other words, the cow was being cut up and given to some Voodoo people to eat raw without killing it first! Where’s PETA when you need them!
It rained this afternoon earlier than usual. That and the 4 deaths may likely have “dampened” the festivities, whether Voodoo or wild partying. While I’m sitting here tonight I can hear music playing in the distance. I don’t think its Voodoo, I think it is party music.
I’m really sorry to hear about the four deaths. Please pray for Mountain Faith mission and the Christians here as they minister in this town. One thing’s for sure. All of the people who go to the waterfall must pass by the mission property and see the large church that is here. Also pray for the mission as preliminary plans are being made to offer Christian alternatives for the festival next year. Maybe you will want to take my place next year to report on Saut d Eau Festival!
My last blog talked about a miracle in the making. It appears to me that is really the case. Apparently several people who live in Saut d Eau have commented to others that their doesn’t seem to be nearly as much Voodoo this year as in the past. I haven’t told you the story of how some Voodoo priests were apparently mysteriously or miraculously struck dead at last year’s Festival! Maybe I’ll get my story straight on that and relay it on this blog.
Although there is a very small percentage of Voodoo people in Saut d Eau, nevertheless there are lots of people in this little town right now. There seems to be at least a few thousand extra people around town. Today I went to Port Au Prince and when I returned and traveled through downtown Saut d Eau, it was teeming with people. There appear to be 4 groups of people in town right now. Of course you have the people who live here, there is a scattering of Voodoo people decked out in brightly colored clothing, then there are several people in town who appear to be here in order to party, and then the remainder of the people are here to simply enjoy the festival atmosphere, which looks a lot like a small town festival in the states, with lots of little stands selling food, hats, clothing, etc. (Of course on the other hand it looks nothing like things in the US, but you can use your imagination!)
I am beginning to think that the secularization of the Saut d Eau Festival has been taking place over the past few years. In other words, a festival that originated as a Catholic pilgrimage to witness the site of a supposed appearance of the Virgin Mary was surpassed by the Voodoo people coming to honor their major spirits and directly pray to Satan for power. But now it looks like this former religious observance is becoming secularized. In the US many of our holidays are religious in origin but have been secularized down through the years. But of course in this case we are glad that the Voodoo festival is rapidly loosing its strength and numbers.
With so many people coming to Saut d Eau during July, and with Voodoo being less of a draw, the people in the mission are looking at using this opportunity to create somewhat of an alternative to the Voodoo festival. In other words, why can’t people come to Saut d Eau in July for Christian worship? Stay tuned for further developments.
From where I sit in Saut d Eau Haiti, it seems a miracle is in progress. There is one thing that this little Haitian town is known for, that is a festival in July for Voodoo worshipers. For decades or longer, there have been many people flock to Saut d Eau during the first couple of weeks of July for Voodoo worship. If you want to do a little research of your own, do a search on the internet with the words “Saut d Eau Haiti” and you will find several articles and pictures concerning the festival. I once looked in a book about “One Hundred Things to do Before You Die” and it included making a trip to Saut d Eau for the Voodoo Festival! The first two weeks of July have traditionally been known to bring thousands of people to this town for Voodoo worship as well as wild partying. The Festival culminates on July 16th, which will be this Saturday.
But I am witnessing very few Voodoo people in this town, at least so far this year. The mission property sits directly on the road that the Voodoo worshipers travel to go from the town to the waterfalls, which is the center of the worship. Today we saw a few people dressed in Voodoo garb, which is brightly colored clothes, such as red headscarves, and blue dresses, walking on the road. But they could be numbered in the teens, not the hundreds, and certainly not the thousands that have typically been associated with the Festival in the past. We have seen an increase in people visiting Saut d Eau over the past several days, but the overwhelming majority of them appear to be people who are visiting Saut d Eau to enjoy the more moderate temperatures at this higher elevation, and to enjoy the scenery and cool water of the waterfall, without involving themselves in Voodoo rituals. The month of July throughout Haiti is known as a vacation month, a time to visit family and friends.
What, do you ask, explains the significant drop in the number of Voodoo adherents in Saut d Eau? I have good reason to suspect two explanations. One has to do with the devastating earthquake of January, 2010. Since that time there have been many Haitians throughout a large part of Haiti who seemed to have turned to God, or at least acknowledge Him in some way to the exclusion of Voodoo worship. But the second reason, I believe, is because of the prayers of the Christians in Saut d Eau and the surrounding area. For the past few years the Christians here, especially those associated with this mission, have been praying that God would allow them to “make Saut d Eau known as a place for God”, not “a place for Satan”. I heard the mayor of Saut d Eau say that personally a few years ago!
I will report back after the 16th on how the crowds may develop throughout the remainder of the week. I will be leaving Saut d Eau on the morning of the 16th in order to go to a church for the weekend, but I’ll hear plenty of reports when I return.
A MIRACLE? BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
I just got back from spending the last two days and last night on top of the appropriately named, Mt. Terrible. I’ll write a full blog about it later
Well, yesterday I traveled with Eric once more to Port Au Prince to pick up a supply of meats for myself and the Turners. As on previous trips, we rode a combination of things to get there and back. We started out on the backs of two motorcycles before getting on a minibus in the next town. The bus ride to the edge of Port Au Prince was uneventful, unless you are a first timer to a third world country like Haiti, in which case all the people, vehicles and animals crossing the road, and making 4 lanes of traffic out of two, would be disconcerting!
At the edge of Port Au Prince we switched drivers. The new one seemed to be in a great big hurry. When we come to a line of stopped vehicles, he would take the sidewalk to work his way forward. We arrived at a location in the city that was still many blocks away from the usual destination and he informed the passengers that we would need to get off in order for him to return to his next station to pick up more passengers. While Eric and I took our empty cooler and got off of the minibus, two of the passengers began to argue with the driver, telling him that we had paid the required amount to be delivered to the downtown “bus station” and that he must take us. As they argued back and forth, Eric and I just watched. One of the two passengers spotted a police car nearby, and proceeded to make a report. Within a couple of minutes the bus driver was called to the police car, where they talked. After some period of time the police, the driver and the two passengers all came back to the minibus and we were told by the police that the driver would need to continue to the downtown “bus station”. The driver got in the driver’s seat and I remarked to Eric that the driver would really be mad now! Sure enough, he pulled out into traffic and began to drive more erratically than before, all the while yelling at those two male passengers. Of course I couldn’t understand what was being said. As it turns out, Eric and I needed to be dropped off within a minute or two of getting back on the bus. We kind of sheepishly said, “Merci Chaufer” which is what you say when you want the driver to let you off. As we exited the bus we noticed that the police car had been following us. Eric later told me that the driver was telling the two men who had caused him to get a traffic ticket, and possibly worse, that he wanted to kill them. They apparently retorted that if he continued to make that threat that he would be reported and be in big trouble, at which time he apparently “changed his tune.” Now that all sounds scary, but it was actually kind of amusing. I figured the worst that could happen is that he would have a wreck and have to find another form of transportation.
Another form of transportation brings me to what I want to share with you about my thoughts in Port Au Prince. After Eric and I had gotten our large cooler loaded down with over 70 pounds of food, we were waiting on the sidewalk for a tap-tap or truck that had enough room for us and our big cooler. While waiting there I noticed so many vehicles from so many different aid organizations. We happened to be standing a block from the main headquarters for Red Cross of Haiti. Without exaggeration, there were at least three or four Red Cross vehicles entering or leaving their gate every minute. These were nice Land Cruisers with one or two people per vehicle. Then there were the Land Cruisers for other organizations and missionary societies. And then there was Eric and Ronnie, on the side of the street waiting for some overloaded truck to pick us up to take us across the city to the bus station to get on another minibus, to be taken to Mirebalias where we got back on motorcycles to complete our ride.
I’m not criticizing Red Cross or any of the other help organizations and ministries that have expensive vehicles with which to transport their people. But it makes me more aware of the amount of money that goes into vehicles, fuel and maintenance with those organizations. It makes me more aware of the thrift with which Mountain Faith Mission operates in comparison. I do not wish for this mission to gain big vehicles for us. I do wish that more people would be aware of the “bang for their buck” that donors to this mission gain with their gifts to the mission.
Mountain Faith Mission operates 18 churches, a medical clinic, 6 schools, a children’s home/orphanage and bakery on an annual budget that is the same as the average American household. Each year this mission reports on hundreds of conversions, hundreds of medical patients helped, 40 plus children housed and fed, hundreds of children educated and lots of loaves of bread made, all on a very small budget.
Don’t consider buying a Land Cruiser for Mountain Faith Mission, it is not necessary. But do check out the ministries, pray, and see if you feel impressed to help a mission that is recognized by the Haitian government as one of the more helpful, older missions in Haiti. One time gifts to the mission are helpful, financial support on a scheduled basis is even better. I don’t want to use this blog as an appeal for money, but I am a witness to how money is spent by different organizations/ministries in Haiti and can recommend this one.
My Time In Haiti 