Close to Home

For two days straight I’ve been hearing the constant beat of Voodoo drums coming from my neighbors’ houses. They’re in the back ground of every class I teach and every conversation I have. They are a constant reminder that I am not only far from home but also living in a country ruled by the enemy. I’m living on the front lines of a spiritual battle. When the drums pause I can hear the peaceful sounds of familiar hymns being sung by a nearby church. In Haiti, the battle lines are clearly drawn.

Though I have never witnessed a Voodoo ceremony for myself I’ve been told from my Haitian friends what goes on during the rituals. They continually beat their drums and dance to a strange fast paced rhythm for hours. They serve food and drink alcohol while dancing. It sounds to me like it’s just one big party but for one exception. The sole purpose of these ceremonies is to bring a possession onto a member of the party. They pray to many different “Gods” for this to take place. Once the person is successfully possessed they dance and beat their drums asking for favor and protection from the “God” who is possessing the individual.  I was told that at these ceremonies there is a constant spirit of fear in the air. I can sense it even in the Haitian Christians talking about Voodoo. I mentioned to one of my friends that I wish these people worshipping Voodoo Gods could come to know Jesus, the one true God. He said to me that if I led them to Jesus I would then be responsible for destroying their idols. By his tone I could tell he was not up to the task. Of course, I told him that God is stronger than any stupid statue. The statue consists of only medal and hollow prayers. There is nothing to fear.

 I was tutoring one of my kids this afternoon. His name is Wilson and his mother was killed during a Voodoo ceremony when he was 6 years old. While we were doing our lesson he become very quiet. After some time he looked up at me and said “Carrie, Jesus not like Voodoo.” I smiled and said, “Yes Wilson your right. Jesus doesn’t like Voodoo.” I’m so thankful that even though the enemy can be encamped all around us he still doesn’t have the power to reach my children.

Thank you Jesus for your protection!

By the way, while we were learning our colors and that apple starts with the letter “a” Wilson looked at me again and said, “Carrie, Jesus likes red apples.” Hahaha. I said, “Yes, Wilson Jesus probably does like red apples.” You may be laughing right now but I was impressed he said a complete sentence in English! Wilson’s first English sentence. I’ve never been so proud.

“Jesus likes red apples”