Job and The House That Was

Last Sunday a 4 year old little boy came up to me and told me he couldn't start school next month. When I asked him why he said b/c his house burnt down last week and his school uniform, shoes and books were inside and now they are gone. His family doesn't have the money to buy new ones. Then I remembered last week I was stopped by people on the street 4 times total to tell me about his family and their house that burned. Now I was meeting Job, at 4 years old he is the youngest of the family. Job came to church by himself and I told him to tell his parents I was coming to talk to them at their house on Monday morning. The school principal, Met-Sorel, said he would go with me to show me where they lived.



We went to a house that is made of banana leaves and some old wood. I met mom, dad and their 3 sons. Mom did all of the talking and said they were renting this house until they figured out what else to do. Now I use the term "house" very loosely. It has 4 crooked, warped, wood walls and banana branches and leaves as a roof. But I guess it is a dry place to sleep. We walked even farther up into the mountains and found the remains of their house. It literally burnt to the ground and everything in it was lost. This family has no clothes, cooking utensils, bedding, nothing. They are not Christians and do not attend church. The mother said, "Sometimes I think God has to shake some people to make them listen. I've been shaken and now I'm listening." I encouraged them to come to church this coming Sunday and told them the start times. We talked about how material things can all be replaced and how thankful we were that no one was inside the house. We talked about how God never promised we would not have difficult times in this life but He promised to never leave us to go through them alone. We talked about how much God loves His children and He is waiting for all of His children to come to Him. They walked around the ground which used to be in the inside of the house and tried to recognize the charred contents.


I was telling this story to an American couple that evening and they asked how much money it would cost to replace Job's school supplies. I gave them an estimate and they readily agreed to send the money! Job's family does not have a telephone but I am returning to Peredo tomorrow and will share this gift a Christian couple hundreds of miles away is giving to their child.

I looked through donations received on Haitian Christian Outreach's containers that were sent after the earthquake and found bed sheets, clothing, soap, and toiletries to give this family as they start rebuilding their lives. To everyone who brought and collected items to send -thank you for doing so and helping this family. Please pray with me that this Christian act of love will encourage them to seek the God who we already love and serve!