Mr. Jerry Miel, a missionary / radio engineer in Haiti with World Team and Radio Lumiere (Radio Light),
went back to help in the aftermath of the earthquake. He experienced the historic Prayer and Fasting and
sent these observations on February 17:
I think that I will remember this day as one of the most significant in my life, not because of what I did,
but for it's meaning...
Today was the one month anniversary of the great Haitian earthquake. About three days ago Haitian President
Preval announced that there would be three days of holiday from work for the purpose of fasting and prayer.
This is absolutely historic.
If you have ever been in Haiti as a visitor or missionary, could you ever have imagined such a pronouncement?
Could you imagine such an announcement from the U.S. President?
This morning I saw a young Haitian-American woman, the leader of a work team, crying because the Americans
could not understand the incredible importance of this day and wanted to go about business as usual.
Remember, it was only about six years ago that a former Haitian president called the nation to come together
to rededicate the nation to Voodoo / Satan.
This was not "a minute of silence for the deceased" or something as equally insignificant. Whatever the
President might have originally intended, this became a real commitment for the Haitian people. As I sit here
this evening, I can hear the preaching coming from a nearby church.
Services have been going on all day.... As we left the guest house about 7:30 a.m. this morning, we were met
by throngs of well dressed people headed to various churches. The sounds of Christian music and worship filled
the air everywhere.
Another observation -- there was NO traffic. Port-au-Prince streets are always clogged and overflowing with
bumper to bumper traffic. This morning there were only a few vehicles on the roads, a few small buses
(tap taps), some UN and military vehicles, and a few private cars.
The same was true of foot traffic. Usually the streets are also clogged with people walking. Today there were
only a few and many of them dressed for church. The only places with blocked traffic were in front of several
churches where the praying congregations had overflowed the buildings and the yards and had moved out into
the streets as well.
The next observation was that EVERYTHING was closed! We could not find even one business or gas station
open. There were no intercity buses running. Whereas the sidewalks are usually overflowing with millions of
street venders, we only saw a few here and there. The huge outdoor market near the wharf where thousands
work each day and cover most of the street, was EMPTY.
Where were all the people? They were in churches and makeshift meeting sites. Every church
(except a Jehovah Witness site) had services going on, almost always overflowing into the streets. Services
were also taking place outside. In homeless camps, there were services. Everywhere the nation was gathered
to worship and pray. No, I did not see any voodoo, Islamic, or Buddhist services. This scene was repeated in
every town and hamlet that we passed during the day.
Tonight, Pastor Ignace, who is sharing the room with me, asked this question: "Can people still say that Haiti is
a voodoo country?" What has been happening and is continuing to happen in Haiti did not happen because of
the earthquake. It has been happening because the Haitian people know how to pray. This is a tremendous
outpouring of God's power as the result of prayer. Twenty years ago I started praying for the gospel to change
the Haitian culture.
The only sadness that I feel today is for our nation, the United States . While a nation that has long been under
Satan's oppression is turning to God with total commitment, our nation, founded on Godly values, has rejected
God and is rapidly trying to forget that His name even exists. Let us pray for revival.
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Friday, March 12, will mark 60 days since a major earthquake devastated the Presidential Palace and dwellings
in Port-au-Prince , the capital of Haiti , flattened other towns and claimed an estimated 230,000 lives. Many of
us might recall hearing the hymn singing that was often going on in the background as we listened to
newscasts. The U.S. media largely ignored President Preval's call that his nation observe three days of prayer
and fasting February 12-14, just 30 days after the earthquake.