Mary dropped me at the airport for a 4:30 PM flight through Dallas to Miami. It was a hot hazy day with little rain in Shreveport for the past few weeks. My flight was delayed in Dallas so didn’t get to the hotel in Miami until after 1 AM. I had to be back at the airport at 7 AM to check in for the flight on to Haiti, but the few hours sleep was all I needed to get my battery recharged.
May 21, 1998
Bill Clark and I met up on the airplane. Somehow we missed each other at the check-in. I had tried to get some extra cash for the trip out of the ATM machines at the airport. However, because one of the communication satellites had blown off course, none of them were working.
Moram Labonte and a driver, Mischegar, were waiting at the airport for us in Port-au-Prince. They drove us to our hotel where Bill and I checked in and rested up for the first meeting in the evening.
I called the conference center to let the director know we were in and would make all the necessary arrangements to pay the bill for the number of preachers who would come. Normally, they require at least 30 in a group to rent the center, but he made an exception for our group of 15.
The conference center was in a rural neighborhood about 5 miles from our hotel. However, because of the "bumper car" traffic it took us about 35 minutes each way. It was no use showering before going because of the heat, vehicle polution and dust. One shower just before going to bed at the end of the day was the best!
The conference center was equipped with electric ceiling and wall fans to help circulate the hot air around. Humidity there made our Louisiana heat feel like spring type weather. We also had a problem with power outages. We had to light candles every night in order to carry on.
May 22,1998
I got up early and prepared for preaching. We had three sessions with the men in the morning and two in the evening. Bill continued his series of messages from the first couple of chapters of 1 Peter. I began a series on "the faith once delivered to the saints," from Jude 3.
In the afternoon, Bill and I went to the bank to exchange some cash into local currency. We also went by the American Airlines office to reconfirm our tickets back to the States. In international travel they require you to reconfirm at least 72 hours ahead of the flight date.
We had little time to rest before heading back to the conference center for the two evening sessions. The driver was late picking us up, and traffic was bumper to bumper both ways on the narrow streets. Nevertheless, the men were always ready, waiting and eager to learn.
May 23, 1998
We enjoyed a nice breakfast buffet of cereal, fruit, cold cuts, cheese, toast and jam. Bill and I checked out of the Holiday Inn to move to another local hotel that was closer to the conference center. It was a tourist hotel run by a Frenchman that is located not far from the airport.
I spent my entire morning session teaching down through 1 Timothy 2:3,4 as a result of one of the men’s questions about who the "all men" represent. This question came up from an earlier message on Christ dying only for the elect of God. It was a good opportunity to show them how Christ laid down His life as a ransom for all without distinction of race, color, or cultural background, but not all individuals without exception. If He had died for everyone without exception, then all would be saved, because it is the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses from all sin. I labored to show them how Christ laid down His life for the elect, and how He so fully satisfied God’s righteous requirements, that He obtained a perfect redemption for every one of them, Hebrews 9:12.
One of the men from a Pentecostal congregation said that he had been very hostile toward the doctrine of predestination, because he knew some in Port-au-Prince who preached it as a cover for sin. I looked at him surprised for two reasons.
I wondered what he meant by ‘using it as a cover for sin.’
As I questioned him further, I found out that what he meant by sin was that these let women wear jewelry, dress slacks, etc. It showed just how much he is basing his righteousness on externals, rather than on the work of Christ. Nevertheless, he did come to the conference, and listened to the truth. God is able to reveal Christ in him if He so pleases.
May 24, 1998
As we drove back to the conference center, we could see hundreds of people dressed up in their "Sunday-go-to-meeting" clothes. People dress in a very western style in stylish dresses and suits. It is such a stark contrast to all the dirt and filth in the streets. I wondered how some of the men can stand to wear their suits and ties in the stifling heat.
Bill Clark led us in a worship service. It was good for the men to have an example of how to lead a worship service in song, Scripture reading, prayer, and the preaching of the Gospel. Afterward, one of the Haitian preachers preached a message from Hebrews 12:21-24 on the nature of true worship. At the end of the morning, Bill gave him a certificate acknowledging his having completed successfully the first part of the study program. He is the first of the preachers to complete the first of three phases in Haiti.
Bill left for the airport at noon, and I continued on with two more teaching sessions with the men in the afternoon and evening. Throughout the conference I developed for them six characteristics of the faith once delivered to the saints.
It declares God as the absolute sovereign in all things.
It declares that all men are dead in sin and corrupt in body, mind, and spirit. They are totally unable and unwilling to come to God apart from His quickening and drawing them through His Son Jesus Christ.
It declares that God elected sinners to salvation in His eternal Son, out of every tribe, nation and tongue, from before the creation of the world.
It declares that the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to work out a perfect righteousness and to die a vicarious death to save every one of God’s elect. All that Christ died to save shall most certainly be saved.
It declares that God effectually calls each of the elect to Christ in repentance.
It declares that all whom God has chosen, redeemed, and called, will most certainly persevere in that faith until death.
A few of the men continued to react with questions as I taught them on saving faith. Their questions enabled me to see where there was still confusion in their minds and hearts. Afterward, one of the men said that his questions were not intended to contradict the teaching, but rather to better understand the truth. I hope that is truly the case. I endeavored to make it plain that any opposition to the message of God’s sovereign grace in Christ Jesus is high treason against the King Himself. He’ll not share His glory with another.
Some of the men had asked me to show them the basics of putting together a message and preaching it. I used 2 Timothy 1:1-14 as my text and showed them how to preach down through the passage. It was a good opportunity for them to hear the Gospel again, particularly as set forth in 2 Timothy 1:9– "Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began."
May 25, 1998
I woke up early and packed my bags to leave. I enjoyed a nice breakfast on the hotel patio overlooking part of the city of Port-au-Prince. It was good just to sit and reflect on the goodness of God, and the open door to preach the Gospel in Haiti. I am thankful to Him and privileged to have had the opportunity.
As the plane lifted off from the airport back to the States and circled around the city to leave, I could see the road that we had taken each morning from the hotel to the conference center. As the plane gained altitude and the ground and people below became less and less visible, I thought of just how insignificant we are as God’s creatures. All of the nations of the earth are before Him as nothing, Isaiah 40:17. How foolish to think of ourselves as anything. Apart from the grace of God, we are nothing. What is man that God should be mindful of any of us. Yet, "God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise…that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him (God) are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." I Corinthians 1:27-31.