The Kentucky Team’s Saga – Part II – “I Want Jesus!!”

Hannah, Rebekah, and Skip headed out with the medical backpacks

It started as any other day.  We had our plans… “but what does that have to do with it?” as Bill would say.  We were going to take a walk inland and find a woman whose knee had been injured in a fall.  We hoped to help, maybe with salve or ointment, and prayer.  Then we hoped to see the man whose catheter was apparently needing attention.  Since we aren’t trained in medicine we weren’t sure exactly what we would be able to do there, but it was the only help he had any hope of getting.  We found the lady and discovered that she already had some very effective leaves that, when applied in a poultice overnight brought the swelling down, so that was that and we enjoyed the opportunity to pray with her and commit her care to God, who was already helping her.

Then we walked over to the little concrete-block-wall shack where our next “patient” lived.   Msr. Cleavant (“Messuhr Clayvaw”) was lying in his “bed”, a raised platform made from tree branches and twigs woven back and forth between perpendicular sticks, having a blanket on top for padding and a very soiled pillow.  He was small in stature, probably not much over 5’6”, and very skinny.  It’s not clear if he needed food, or if he was losing weight from the sickness.  In Haiti, it’s often hard to tell the difference.

We introduced ourselves, Hannah, Rebekah, Markendy (our translator, a very kind young Haitian Christian man) and me, Alan.  I began to ask Msr. Cleavant questions to survey the situation.  We discovered that he was having trouble urinating and was brought to a doctor in Madame Bernard (a small town on the island of Ile A Vache where we were.  The doctor inserted the catheter to give him relief.  I’m sure the doctor explained it, but folks don’t always understand, that the bag needs to be lower than the body for it to work.  So it was still mostly empty.  Of course, there’s not much to come out in the first place when you walk a mile for fresh water.  But we explained the process to him again.

Then he mentioned that the doctor had told him the reason for the problem in the first place was that there was a “blockage”.  Something inside was restricting the flow and if he didn’t have “the surgery” the doctor was only going to change the catheter one time.   He didn’t have money, so he wasn’t going to get a surgery, and he is already old enough that his life has been full and death wouldn’t even be a surprise anyway.  And as I was sitting there praying for words, it occurred to me that there was nothing we could do for him.  We were literally helpless.  That’s never a fun situation, but I have been walking with Jesus long enough now to recognize that this is actually a VERY good place for Christians to be.

So the conversation shifted.  With a heavier heart, I asked Msr. Cleavant if he understood that after this life, we have another life… forever.  He didn’t even hesitate.  That man sat bolt upright, and waving his hands he said ,

That man sat bolt upright, and waving his hands he said “I used to be catholic all my life, but I don’t want to do that any more.  I want Jesus!”

Astonished.  Stunned.  Silent.  I/we had no words to say.  Without any help from us, he had repented, abandoned his dead works, and sought the living God, all in a few words.  We could only watch in awe as He and the Holy Spirit communed together, and he found peace in his predicament.

Msr. Cleavant was able to come down a few day later and visit us.

We eventually were able to enjoy a very happy time with him and his Christian wife, who had been praying for him for years.  We thanked God together for the blessing of our meeting, and left Msr. Cleavant with his new hope eternal.  In my heart I was also praying that our new friend would not be distracted by medical intervention and potentially dragged back into the cares of this world where the devil skillfully plays with our minds and distracts us from our first love.  Death for Christians is a beginning, not an end, so I’m never inclined to ask God to keep me or anybody else from it if He is pleased to allow it.  That seems to make a lot of folks mad or disappointed in me, but it’s what I honestly see as a biblical truth.  If it’s precious to God for a saint to pass out of this life, then who am I to ask for something different?

Well, regardless of all that, it’s not clear where all this will eventually land.  Though Msr. Cleavant is weak and sick right now, he’s nowhere near dead.  And he has new life in Jesus who can make him whole again if it pleases him.  Perhaps a surgery would help him live a few more years, if folks wanted to share that burden by helping with funds.  But my (our?) prayer for him is not more days on earth, but that he remain true to the one who met him in his time of desperation, regardless of what happens next, until the day he gets called home.  And we thank our kind and gracious Father for letting us have a part in that scene in his epic saga.”

The girls were all smiles as they excitedly told us about what had happened with Msr. Cleavant!

That evening, as Skip and the girls were sharing about this at the base, Estane, a young single mother who has helped with cooking and cleaning around the base for the last two years, was listening.  Suddenly she said, “I want Jesus, too!”

Estane and her daughter, Maylig

They prayed with her and we spent the evening sitting around the table reading scriptures.  We talked about obedience, following the Lord, baptism, etc.  Please keep Estane in your prayers as she begins this walk with the Lord.  What a joyous day!!

We are grateful for all of you who pray for JUST MERCY’s work in Haiti and for the love and support you send our way.  Blessings on you all!!