the ayars affairs: and to never give up hope.

Oh man. I laid awake long into the night last night. I'd been holding onto His peace, and then sorting through some photos for Sofie's birthday photo album, this sweet little picture of Sofie and her dearest friend, MartheLaura, came to the top. She and her sister have been dear friends to our girls for years, and just had another sleepover weekend when we were in Haiti in April.

Something about the trusting and hopeful look on her sweet face, and I was totally undone.

All this mess, this all, it's one thing.

But then there are the children.

They are MY children, MY children THEIR children, and while Sofie's off to camp and Sofie's off to gymnastics and Sofie's up in bed with breakfast planned and the days ahead, too...just as it SHOULD BE, there is MartheLaura, in the middle of all the headlines, in the background of all the uncertainty, in the throes of all the fears.

I taped her to my wall, MartheLaura, and prayed over her and her sweet sister. Which opened a floodgate of prayers and tears.

I prayed for Claudin's motherless children, in the middle. For sweet Yasha living in the home and sleeping in the crib that my children lived and slept in for 12 years. For Christie, our miracle girl, for baby Ezechiel, for Gaba and John Kennedy, for Naomi about to deliver, for Gertha's dear Thaliya, for Hline and Alexandra. For Prince Lou and miracle baby Benjamin.

Tears just poured and poured and I finally turned off the lights and laid in bed, praying, their dear faces on my revolving angry and sad, sad and angry heart.

Your children, Lord. YOUR children.

Lord!

This morning we ran some errands, and this afternoon while Ben slept, I put Nora with some paints and flower pots, Lily with a book, and Sofie off to visit with Lady Jane, and pulled up the letter Dr. Guenson (new president of Emmaus University) sent me a few days ago, to edit and produce a news update for Emmaus on "What now?"

And it reminded me to trust.

That God has been at work, perfectly, for this day.

That my love for these dear children pales in comparison to His.

And that what is needed is still for the church to STOP following the world around and getting frustrated when it derails us, and to LEAD with His love, with His cross, with His heart.

I LOVE and cherish that we've gotten to be a part of finding and forming and filling and sending those men and women to the front lines all these years. I love that I get to be a painful part of it, still. I love that THEY are exactly what is needed, and I LOVE how Emmaus has prepared them.

I cannot sit and cry over children like one who has no hope. The Gospel of Jesus Christ MUST influence, must dictate, not only my life, but MY MIND.

And the Gospel of Jesus Christ says to STAND, to Stand Firm. To never be afraid. To never cease praying.

and to never give up hope.

Here we go again. Once again Haiti is negatively making headlines worldwide. Last weekend, we narrowly escaped hurricane Elsa, and now this, the horrifying assassination of our president! This is horrific. Another gloomy day in our history.

How we are feeling right now is hard to describe. We don’t know what to think. We don’t know what to say. The atmosphere is somber. The streets of Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitian (where Emmaus is) are deserted.

What’s next? How long Lord? Where are we heading as a nation? Why are all these things happening to us? What does it mean for us as a nation? What does it mean for us at Emmaus?

As I cry and reflect on what is going on today, I have become more concerned about what will happen in the next 25 years if we do not use today as an opportunity to rethink our approach to helping Haiti.

Haiti is known to be a Christian country. However, it is obvious that the Gospel of Jesus Christ does not influence the mindset and lifestyle of most Haitians, particularly those in positions of power.

The Evangelical Haitian Church sits willingly in the very last car of Haiti’s train, a train that too often goes off track due to reckless driving. Our common practice as Haitian Christians has been to look for opportunities to jump off this careening train to save ourselves. But we rarely see it as our calling to GO sit in the driver’s seat. This must change. Otherwise, all our efforts to see change in Haiti will be futile.

This is where Emmaus University comes in. We are a divine tool of transformation. What has been happening in Haiti is very unfortunate. It is terrible. It is inhumane. Yet, we stand firm at our post. We are shaken, but we remain steadfast. Life is getting more uncertain by the minute. Yet, we have become more and more certain of our calling

We have a crucial role to play in the making of a new Haiti. We refuse to use these circumstances as reason to flee, but as the means that justify our mission and vision.

Simply stated, we exist to influence the influencers in Haiti. We do that through quality education established on biblical values and exemplary leadership models. Unless Haiti’s influencers are being influenced by biblical values there is no hope for social change in Haiti.

Emmaus is positioned to play a major role in training the next generation of Haitian leaders. This is why we became a university in 2018. We are called to influence educators, businesspeople, and leaders of all kinds. We continue to crave your prayers, your partnership and above all your patience. Too often we feel pressured to produce quick results. It will take time to change mindsets and belief systems. But we will get there.

We at Emmaus are committed. I know you are also committed to Emmaus. Let us continue to stand firm in our trust of God, and do together what He has called us to do to save a nation.

Dr. Guenson Charlot

President of Emmaus University of Haiti