My new job...

The time here is just seeming to fly by. It feels like I have been here for three weeks, but I have just been here a little longer than two. Great progress, my beard is now about half an inch long! Hahaha...
Okay, now back to more important things.
I have been working steadily between the maintenance department here on the base and my new job (greeting the new comers and briefing them on the history of Haiti). Many of these things have given me insight into how I can pray for Haiti. Did you know that Haiti was the first place to receive the gospel of Christ in the Western Hemisphere? It was. Columbus landed here on December 6th of 1492 looking for riches to bring his Spanish queen. The Spaniards nearly annihilated all of the natives of the island within 25 years of establishing their presence on the island. In the early 1600's the French established a presence on the island and were ceded the western third (which became Haiti). They started to pour in the slave labor and soon the number of slaves outnumbered the French. The slaves were mistreated and this lead to their rebellion, which proved successful after a prolonged struggle. The leaders of the rebellion declared that the nation would be dedicated to Satan for 200 years if they gained their independence, and in 1804 they finally got that. Haiti became the first black republic to gain independence. Today, the nation has been stripped of its former glory "the Ruby of the Caribbean". It is largely deforested which has lead to nearly all of its 26 feet of top soil to wash away in the many tropical storms, and poor farming habits over the years. Since its conception Haiti has been known as the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere as well as a nation plagued with violence. The French also forced their slaves to practice Catholicism, as they "Christianized" the nation. Today, nearly 80 percent of the nation considers itself Roman Catholic, and nearly 19 percent Protestant Christian. However, as in the days of the past, many still hold onto their traditional African beliefs and practice voodoo on the side. They estimate that nearly half practice voodoo. Many Haitians view God as distant. This lines right up with the voodoo beliefs. Voodoo belief says that Creator God is distant and unreachable. They also believe that he distributes his power to Loa (lesser gods [demons]) which have dominion over things like trees, rocks, mountains, and water.
The spiritual climate of Haiti is different, it is in your face. People here see the spiritual realm daily, and it is usually the sorcerers of voodoo showing it, not the prophets of God. Maybe this is why so many follow the practices of voodoo. Even the Christians seem to have a "healthy fear" of the voodoo god, but the Fear of the Lord is often lacking. As YWAM Haiti, we long to see this changed. Please join me in prayer.
-Love, Kyle.