Voodoo
Funeral
Not Your Typical
By Stacey Ayars, Missionary in Haiti, One Mission Society
... as Junior fasted and prayed, he heard the Lord speak,
“Junior, you will do it.”
12
In the middle of the temple, surrounded by the talismans and trinkets of Ti-Paul’s life and trade, was a huge grave, still being dug by three men. On one side of the pit were 10 young men, and on the other side, the witch doctors Ti-Paul had worked with. “God can’t be in here!” one of the witch doctors hissed at OMS missionary and Emmaus Biblical Seminary (EBS) president, Matt Ayars, Junior, and the other eight young men from EBS in Haiti. “You can’t be a part of this. You can’t see what we’re doing. Get out, NOW, or else!” Matt then saw the boldness of Christ in Junior in a way he had never seen before. Shaking with righteous anger, Junior countered back, “I am his son. This funeral has been given to me. We are not going anywhere, and there is NO place God is not.” When Junior had left Cap-Haiten for Port-au-Prince just a few days earlier for his father’s funeral, I had prayed with him, knowing it would be incredibly challenging for our dear friend and student to attend the funeral of his father, the witch doctor. And yet, the battle was the Lord’s. Thirty hours before the funeral, as Junior fasted and prayed, he heard the Lord speak, “Junior, you will do it.” Junior told God, “Lord, seriously? My family, my father’s friends, and his followers won’t let me do it. I have been the outcast son for 18 years, and half of my 31 siblings don’t even know my name!” “You have my authority,” the still small voice continued. “I give the funeral to you.” An hour later, Junior called me, begging me to send Matt right away. “I am doing the funeral tomorrow, and I need Matt to preach.” The next morning, Matt and eight other EBS staff and students piled in a tiny pickup truck, wearing suits, and headed south. They arrived just in time for the funeral. These 10 young men stood before almost 1,000 people, most of whom were engrained
in a cultural blend of politics, Voodoo and Catholicism that many consider part of being Haitian. The task before them: to preach the Gospel unwaveringly before men, women and children whom Junior’s dad had spent his life leading into darkness. But just as the taunting Goliath rose up on that hillside so many years ago, mocking God and his people, God showed himself through 10 young men, ready to be used by God. They came at the challenge not with sticks and stones, but with Bread and Water—that all the Earth may know that there IS a God in Haiti. The students sang praises and read the Word, and Junior shared his testimony, crediting his father, Ti-Paul, with “giving me, at least at the beginning, the freedom to leave Voodoo and follow Christ.” When it came time for Matt to preach, he stood and opened his Bible to Isaiah 6. “As I began,” Matt shared, “I felt the Holy Spirit meet me and pour through me in a way I’ve rarely experienced, and with great boldness, great love and great authority, I was able to preach.” Most of the people had never heard the Gospel; they were only fluent in the things of darkness. “If you hear me say something that resonates in your heart as being true, just say ‘Amen!’ That means, ‘May it be so!’” Matt encouraged the crowd. From that moment on, Matt’s voice was frequently overshadowed with loud “amens.” God still works in the hearts of men who have never met him, and his Truth rings true, even in the midst of lies. How inspiring to see what God can do through us when we act on our trust that he IS wh ?H ?^\?H\??XY H ??H ??H]\?Z]K?????? ???K ?YHX?[?8?'KT][8?&\??[?\?[ ??'B??? Y?H L??[?[?
?Y?
H[??[??P?? ? Y[? ?[? ?Y?? ?? Y?H LN?H?[??]?H??KT][??L??