A Very Real Voodoo Presence

Well I probably should have just thrown in the towel on ever getting caught up...but that is just so unlike me! I am now officially "home" (if you will). It has been a challenge coming back to reality and the many responsibilities that that entails, but I guess it had to happen at some point. I finally decided to take a break between calling insurance adjusters and phone companies, job searching, cleaning/packing, and trying to sort through oh so many photos, at least long enough to get one more post up. I have also been working on setting up the photos so everyone can take a look at them but have not decided which method I prefer so please be patient with me. The stubborn side of me wants to customize the interface but for practicality purposes I may have to cave and use something like Snapfish. I will post a link as soon as it becomes available.

The memories seem to get more and more foggy with each day that passes. So today's post will be picking up from our departure from Petit Paradis to our next village of Guinaudee. This next village was another three hours deeper into the mountains so it gave us plenty of time for our tears (from leaving Petit) to dry up but there was nothing that could have prepared us for what we would encounter on this drive. Apparently the practice of Voodoo is even more prominent in these mountain villages than it is in Port au Prince and it did not help that we were traveling through the mountains over Easter weekend (4/3 - to be exact). As we soon found out this is also the weekend that those who practice Voodoo celebrate what they call, Rah Rah . As one of my Haitian brothers explained, it usually consists of a parade ritual and is followed by cock fighting. Now when I say parade, it does not carry the same connotation it does in the States with candy flying and everyone having a merry-ole' time. Sorry, I really do not mean to make light of what is and was a very serious, not to mention dangerous matter. Along our drive we came upon, I think it was either three or four villages' Rah Rah parades. We did not think much of them at first because their numbers were slight and they did not do anything to disturb us other than yelling things at us, which again made me glad that my creole was limited. In between the parade encounters the drive was laced with the most amazingly breathtaking views. Once you were able to get past the tremendous drop offs on both sides, you could see the coast off to the right and then endless mountains off to the left. If one looked long and hard enough, what must have been hundreds of villages could be seen all around us on the sides of the mountains. It is safe to say that we were very easily preoccupied by the scenery between Rah Rah sightings, at least until we came upon the largest one yet. This group was much larger and much more aggressive than the others and refused to get let us pass. So we were forced to come to a complete stop and not long after that they had surrounded our truck. Since I was in the very back of the dump truck I was having trouble seeing exactly what was going on up ahead until they made their way down the sides and rear of the truck with not only their machetes but also blades attached to the ends of long poles. By this time taking photos was not really an option as I did not want to put our whole group in danger and anger the mob any further. Hence, I have no photos to document this portion of the journey. We were advised to get down and out of sight as these weapons could have very easily reached us as we were. The part that concerned me most was that they had access to the back latch and there would not have been much we could have done had they tried to open the back gate. I just remember immediately starting to pray that God would protect us. The only thing that I could see from this position was the witch doctor's flag upon the hill accompanied by the sounds of their shouts and drums. We did find out later from the portion of our group that was in a smaller vehicle that this parade actually had a man tied up whom they were whipping to death. In talking to our Haitian brothers in the truck with us we also found out that this is a common practice for someone to be chosen, drugged, and beaten during these celebrations. It was also pointed out that this same person is typically sacrificed later that night so as to make a mockery of Christ and His death on the cross.

Finally after what seemed like hours, but was really minutes, our Haitian brothers shouted a few things to the mob and they eventually moved out of the way of the front of the vehicle and we were able to get back on the road towards Guinaudee. After this particular encounter and many nights of trying to fall asleep to the Voodoo drums in the distance, I found myself really struggling and concerned that my faith was not strong enough to withstand such tests. As if it was not already, it became even more of a priority to pour into the Word and in prayer so that I might be able to stand firm in the faith and keep whatever evil was lurking, at bay. It is extremely difficult to try to explain this unsettling feeling so you will probably just have to take my word for it on this one. It's not like the the feeling one gets in a scary movie but a whole lot more real and all encompassing than that.

For obvious reasons, this experience was one that was utterly disturbing and still stands out in my mind. I will say that after going through all of this it really made me spend some much needed time reflecting. We know that God sent His son to die for us, but we often get so preoccupied with the busyness and self-centeredness of life that it is easy to loose sight of what an amazing gift that truly is. Why would He do such a thing? Who are we to be worthy of that?...That is just it! He does not save us because of who we are but rather because of who He is. How awesome is that!? This is something that I pray will permeate each one of our lives...that we might gain a better understanding of this Great Love."But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy (Titus 3:4-5)."

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8)."

*Note(photo) - On our return trip from Guinaudee a couple days later, this boy and his grandmother were walking down the road as our truck was stuck. He carried a whip with him and according to his grandmother he had been put under a Voodoo curse beginning when he was submerged in human waste as an infant. Unable to even grasp why anyone would do this to their child, our Haitian pastor tried to explain just how alive Voodoo is amongst his people. It is very real to them and demonic possession is not something that is uncommon throughout Haiti. He went on to explain about his nation having been dedicated to the Devil by various public officials over the past couple hundred years which in turn has resulted in such a strong Voodoo presence to this day.