God at work through His peace-makers

After 10 days of Haiti at a stand-still, paralyzed by high prices, lack of fuel, political tension and mounting fear, this morning began with loud mayhem and the sounds of glass shattering, right in front of the Emmaus gate. Throughout the night a few young men worked, blocking the road with large rocks, setting a few tires on fire, attempting to continue the chaos and fear.  Throwing bottles and rocks at passing motorists, around 7 am a motorcycle with three people was hit and plunged upside-down in the ditch. Yesterday the village church prayed with urgency, heard the Gospel with hope, and glorified God with faith, and were reminded by the local pastor: We are not to think as the world thinks. We cannot respond as the world responds. We cannot do what our neighbors do, no matter how hard things get. Remember Whose you are, and let everything you do be done as a child of God, reflecting God.  Never forget we are God's people! No sooner did the moto hit the pavement that the church and the community hit the road. They ran to the assistance of the injured. They pulled every rock from the pavement, women swept every shard of broken glass away, men pushed burning tires into the ditches to extinguish, and Emmaus' man at the gate called the police. As the peace-makers worked, the trouble-makers fled. I share this story from our morning because THIS is what the Gospel does, THIS is what God is doing through His people, THIS is what Haiti needs. This is what Emmaus is here for, empowering and encouraging and equipping men and women for transformative Gospel sowing and living-- in good seasons, and even more-so, in dark ones. Haiti needs men and women, heavy in prayer, full of the Holy Spirit, strong and courageous, to peacefully transform the violence, the lawlessness, the corruption, the history...every single day. The problems run deep and deeper still, and the government has spoken up several times in the last days, outlining some good, solid strategies for deep-rooted, incredibly difficult change.    Maybe things will.  Maybe they won't.   But when the church stands steady and rises up well in the face of fear and injustice, allowing it to continue no further...change in our communities, in people's hearts, is imminent.  What a joy to see big trucks, the first in almost two weeks, whizzing by Emmaus right now. What a joy to see students and staff coming this morning, asking about classes. What a joy to hear leaders on the radio urging schools to reopen and children to get back into them. What a joy to see clinics and businesses and schools trying to reopen today. There is a long way to go.  But as long as we are praising God in the uncertainty, as long as men and women are refusing to fear, as long as His children can be faithful, waiting upon the Lord...change is coming. Change is coming. We ask for and are grateful for your continued prayers.  Pray for our staff and students and brothers and sisters right now, peace-makers spread throughout Haiti this morning.  Pray for their courage and their peace. Pray for Haiti, keep on.   For His glory, we will keep on, too. Thank you for being a praying, giving, going part of developing Christ-like leaders for Haiti, for such a time as this. Stacey Ayars, for the Emmaus family