Pray for Haiti

Last Sunday I attended a service at IHOP Atlanta (prayer, not pancakes). Man, there are some awesome churches outside of Albany! IHOP churches are based on prayer, worship, and apostolic leadership. Like the Tabernacle of David in the Old Testament, they have prayer and worship 24 hours a day (not the whole church of course, they take shifts and I think other churches are involved too). This church in Atlanta has been praying 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for three years! Imagine having a place to go at 2am, to sit in God's presence and worship. Wow.

Anyway, one of the women on the praise team shared that a team from the church was leaving this week to minister in Haiti. She taught us some of the history of the physical and spiritual poverty of this nation. In order to get emancipation from France in the 1800s, Haiti made a pact with Satan. They vowed to serve him in exchange for their freedom. Voodoo is the main religion. Human sacrifices are done and children and sold into slavery. Because the people are so poor, they cannot afford to keep their children, and will release them into slavery, often as sex slaves, for money.

In addition to this horror, there is the bondage of hunger. The people make "dirt cakes" to eat. While the government wants to step in and forbid this practice because it's unsanitary, they know that otherwise many starving people would have nothing at all to eat.

The team from IHOP is aware that the root of Haiti's problems is spiritual, and are focusing their efforts on this trip likewise. That's really smart. They are going in with the Word of the Lord, and like Judah who "plows" (Hosea 12?), they are strengthened from all that prayer and worship and ready to win souls for Christ. They may even be granted the opportunity to hike 4-8 hours one way to minister to a primitive tribe who've never heard the gospel.

Please join me in praying for this team and the people of Haiti that God so desperately loves.