Thoughts from yesterday

I (John) want to say that yesterday was extremely interesting for me, but packed full of lessons that at another time I may not have seen. As many of you know, yesterday I went to Cap Haitien to pick up some groceries from the market and 14 packages from the airport.

I started off with my quiet time reading a devotion on waiting on God and His timing. Then I read several chapters in Psalms. Two passages that stood out during my reading were Psalm 33:18,20 and Psalm 50:15.

Psalm 33:18,20 (New Living Translation)

¹⁸ But the Lord watches over those who fear him,
    those who rely on his unfailing love.

²⁰ We put our hope in the Lord.
    He is our help and our shield.

Psalm 50:15 (New Living Translation)

15             Trust me in your times of trouble,

            and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory

I know, I know, I should have known after reading this that I would have an opportunity to see how much I believe it soon, but sometimes I'm a little slow to see the signs. My hindsight is much better that my foresight.  

After breakfast, I headed out to Cap Haitien with Kylie, two of her friends and Yen Yen (man who helps us with just about everything around the house) along for the ride. Kylie was really excited because it was her first trip to Cap Haitien since we arrived to Haiti. She was also proud to be taking two of the girls from the orphanage along for the trip to the market and lunch.  The day started off pretty well. We had a good ride into town, stopped at two different markets in search of some hard to find luxuries - boxed milk, american peanut butter, 2-ply toilet paper, and some other things. We also stopped by the hardware store to find some items to fix a leaking pipe. Then we headed off to the airport to pick up our cargo shipment.

We were extremely blessed at the airport. We picked up the largest shipment (both in weight and quantity) that we have ever received and the "fee" was almost half of what we have paid in the past for large shipments. It is amazing how God continues to go before us in potentially contentious situations. 

After the airport, we were headed to a "safe" restaurant for a late lunch when we were stopped by the police for not having a plaque (tag). MS plates are not acceptable in Haiti so we paid for the tag and assurance (insurance) right after we got here in January.  However, due to the government inefficiencies we still have not received the tag. Yen Yen has called about it regularly, but there is always some excuse. The latest is that it is still in Port-au-Prince because someone forgot to send it back up to the north end of the island. 

This was my opportunity to put into practice the scripture that I read that morning. Did I truly trust God during my time of trouble? Do I really fear Him and rely on his unfailing love? How much do I put my hope in God? You see it has always been easy for me to trust God because I always had Wal-Mart, too.  It's easy for  me to "trust" when I have a back-up plan - money in the bank, supplies readily available, people to turn to for help, etc. But what about now in a foreign land with limited money (I had already spent most of what I had taken to town on groceries, plumbing supplies and customs fees), a huge language barrier, no translator while staring in the face of a dysfunctional government delay and dealing with the police who operate on no moral code.  

Yen Yen was stressed. Kylie was crying because she thought we were going to have to walk home and never see our truck again. I'm not sure about the other girls because they weren't saying anything. And there I was faced with the decision of how to respond. Do I react as I typically would - blow up at the injustice and give them a piece of my mind for not being reasonable about something that is their governments problem. Or do I trust in the Lord, even in times of trouble, and know that he has a purpose and a plan for all that was going on. Surprisingly, I chose the later (for the most part). I tried to explain to the officials (through Yen Yen and a call to Herod who speaks English) about the deal with our plaque but they did not want to hear it. 

Yen Yen (still stressed and frustrated himself) found a taxi to help us make our expected journey home that would include a ride to a "bus stop" (a whole different story), a ride on an old recycled school bus to Limbe and then a ride on a tap tap (a small pick-up truck converted to taxi) to Camp Coq. It was obviously going to be difficult moving all of the stuff and people around at each stop.  There was disappointment on everyone's faces. As we were loading the taxi (a 1990 Toyota Camry that had seen much better days) I told Yen Yen that we were still going to lunch. He seemed surprised. I was not going to give up in my times of trouble. I was going to trust God and continue on with our plans. It turned out to be a great decision - as trusting God often does. We had a great lunch. The girls were treated to a meal at a restaurant, something the orphans have experienced only a handful of times in their lives and everyone got a chance to calm down, collect their thoughts and prepare for the hard journey ahead. But while we were dining, God had been working. The taxi driver waited outside the restaurant for us to eat and while he waited he decided that he would be willing to take us all the way to Camp Coq. What a huge answer to prayer. This meant that we wouldn't have to shuffle around, fight crowds at various stops and figure everything out as we went. We agreed to a price and he took us home. 

When we got home, we were blown away by the items that we received from the States. Some were birthday gifts for the girls, some were requested items from home, but so many items were not requested but met huge needs. God began working weeks ago in peoples lives to move and meet our needs yesterday. He knew we would be facing a difficult situation and he sent encouragement.

But He also sent a reminder - Trust Me. Rely on Me. Put your hope in Me. Too often I work to figure it all out and tell God to wait on the side and I will let him know when I need the "big guns". I think we all do that to some degree. But He wants more than that from me. He wants to give me so much more. But too often I get in the way. 

I don't know what the purpose of having our truck impounded is or why it is taking more than two months to get a tag (normally takes about 10 days), but who am I to question God and His plans. I am reminded of when God asked Job the same question - Job 38:2 - "Who is this that questions my (God's) wisdom with such ignorant words?" Only God knows what He spared us from yesterday.  A thousand different things could have happened that would have been far worse than the inconvenience of losing our truck for a time. It could be some lesson that has yet to be revealed. 

For now I will respond as Job did after being challenged by God  - Job 40:3-5 - "I am nothing-how could I ever find the answers? I will put my hand over my mouth in silence. I have said too much already. I have nothing more to say." 

I will truly trust Him, rely on Him and put my hope in Him.