Pastor Guercy, his brother Bookson and I went out to City Soleil to visit one of the churches that El Shaddai Ministries International (ESMI) would like to rebuild. City Soleil is one of the roughest areas in all of Port of Prince and Haiti. It has a population of about 50,000 to 60,000. It is similar to East LA or the Watts and has been an ongoing area of focus for the UN peacekeepers still here. Pastor Guercy told me that there are two sides to this city…the cool side and the hot side (translated the safe side and the dangerous side). The dangerous side is row upon row of tin and tarp shacks packed together in what looks like a land fill area with no trees for shade. As you drive further out toward the bay you come to the safe side, which is basically a flood plane. It is filled with the kinds of grasses and trees and plants that thrive in a lot of water. This is where Pastor Myrtil took us to show us his church.
The church is built out of whatever scrap lumber and corrugated tin the congregation could find. Before the earthquake this church had about 200 members, which is about the size of my church in Ohio. They have about 150 now because many of the members have moved out to more rural areas. Last year during the hurricane season the water was up to just below the floor in the door.
As we walked into the church we were met by three ladies and two children who immediately broke out in a song welcoming us into their house of worship. If you look closely at the picture you will see that the floor is made out of rubble leveled out and made as smooth as possible by chunks of concrete and tile. You can also see the holes in the tin where the rain pours in during the rainy season (May through November). As I stood here with my brothers and sisters it was all that I could do to keep from bursting into tears. We have so much in our churches in the US and yet are often unhappy with what we have. We want bigger edifices or newer features and yet our brothers and sisters in places like Haiti are satisfied with a shack like this.
In the back of the church the Pastor has started building a “home” for him and his family of 5. It is a slow project because he has to save for each part. So far he has poured the footing. It is an 8’ x 10’ building. That is smaller than most of our bathrooms and that will be their entire home.
I am sorry if this commentary about Pastor Myrtil’s church sounds like an indictment of our affluence in the US, it is more of an indictment of my own heart and what I often find important in my own life. I have often caught myself complaining about how busy work kept me or how much I need to do on my current project. Then God introduces me to a man like Pastor Myrtil. Not only does he pastor this church of 150, but he also is a pastor/teacher/leader for 4 other churches located in: Calico (75 members), Nicola (97 members), Les Cayes (200 members), and St. Mark (50 members). He rotates through these churches every other Sunday. And by the way, the Les Cayes church is about 3-4 hours away.
Hopefully you can feel with me the emotions that welled up within me as I assessed this church, met the pastor and some members of the congregation.
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