Great Day of the Lord
Sunday, June 20, was a great Day of the Lord! We attended two (2) Worship Services. The first was at 6:30am at the Methodist Church of the District of Petit Goave. Pastor Barbara Mungin preached on the raising of Lazarus from John 11:28-44. Pastor Ralph Denizar , District Superintendent of Petit Goave and pastor of the church, translated into Creole. This was my second experience with an interpreter, and it was as if our spirit was as one. The service was a traditional Methodist Order of Service, and the congregation was lively in their response.
The team then zipped over to the Methodist Church of O'liviere in the mountainous suburbs of O'liviere where the 9:00 a. m. service was already in progress. The service was very lively with bass and lead guitars, keyboard, and drums. We joined in the clapping and dancing as we sang from the Creole hymnal or just hummed to the tune. Pastor Virginia Carlyle preached on the death and resurrection of Jesus from Matthew 27:45-56. Bro. Jeane Claude Degazon, our interpreter, translated the message into Creole. It was a healing experience for him after having been buried in the rubble of the earthquake at one of the Methodist clinics in Fond Doux. Pastor Maude Hyppolite, District Superintendent of the District of Miragoane and Pastor of the church, gave the benediction. We were received with hospitality and served refreshments after the service.
We had a special God moment when we all prayed with and for Jean Claude at the site of the clinic where the ceiling and walls fell.
We had the joy of meeting a team from The Greater New Jersey Conference led by Pastor Sunny Augustine, a former member of the New York Annual Conference. They joined us in worship at both Sunny worshiped with us at Petit Goave and the others worshiped with us at churches.
Pastor Maude Hyppolite was our host pastor who invited the team to Fond Doux through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and Volunteers in Mission (VIM). It was a blessing to hear her experience in the earthquake. The guest house has been renovated. In addition to District Superintendent with oversight over seven (7) churches and pastor, she is also manager of the guest house at Petit Goave and oversees three (3) clinics. We provided medical supplies for two (2) of those clinics with contributions from several churches and contributors from the New York Conference. Thank you New York and Connecticut!!!
All in all, it was a spirit-filled day of worship, hospitality, and resurrection with many blessings.
To God be the glory, for great things God has done and is doing!!!!