Haiti's national holiday

November 18th is a major national holiday in Haiti (my husband has been on 5 mission trips and loves the people), commemorating the Battle of Vertières, in which the army of the escaped slaves conquered the last remnant of the French army. Dave Mann, our pastor who serves there, says it's the only enduring successful slave revolt in the history of the world, and it was against one of the strongest military forces of the world at the time, that of Napoleon Bonaparte.

And look at Haiti today, compared to countries whose governments or colonial powers which freed their slaves or serfs due to moral outrage or pressure from Christians and folded them into the economy. The Haitian slaves knew they wanted something elusive, like "freedom." However, they didn't have much cooperation of powerful forces in other countries which also had slaves and feared revolts--like the United States, Mexico, Brazil, etc.

And even if they had, they didn't know how to run the plantations or cities or schools or the government and army. They soon occupied the mansions and consumed the wealth of their former masters, put brutal dictators (lighter skinned than the masses, but still African) in charge who again stole their much reduced wealth, and sunk into poverty that exists to this day. Even so, the faith in God of the Haitian
people would put their wealthier neighbors in the U.S. to shame.

This moment in history brings to my mind today's "Occupiers," vague on the concept of freedom, naive about economics, offending all forces around them that might be more reasonable, and consuming their movement from the inside, but unlike the devout Haitians, they have no faith in anything higher than themselves.

Dave Mann with student choir, 2007, at Institution Univers, Ouanaminthe, a private Christian school.

Lutherans distribute Arch Books in Haiti

Food, water, and something to read. There is great need.

People Magazine in Haiti

My husband recently returned from a short term mission trip in Haiti. The poverty and lack of infrastructure are astounding--no electricity, no running water, no police force, no garbage control or pick up, but because this was his third trip, it's not as shocking as the first time. Mid-week he picked up a People Magazine one of the members of the team had brought along. It's not a magazine we read--he sees it occasionally at the doctor or dentist office. He said he started to leaf through it, then in disgust put it down. What a terrible depiction of our culture--the mindless consumerism, the groveling over entertainers, the glorification of unmarried motherhood. Whose culture is poor?

To read about Haitian culture, see our Pam Mann's Creole Crusts, Lenten Devotions. At the UALC website. You can download it or pick a copy up at any of the church locations. Imagine having your personal items stolen, and then confronting the thief when you see her wearing your clothes, only to be told you should be thankful not more was taken! As a Christian, just where is your treasure?