(reprinted from HAFF Happenings, June 1999)
The Jesus film ministry coincides with the dry season. Between mid-November 1998 to mid April 1999 our team has shown it in 33 locations with an estimated 12,000 viewers. It is usually shown outdoors with folks sitting on the grass, many arriving after it has begun. Four years of heavy use in the dusty conditions and getting bounced around in the back of the truck or on the back of a donkey (some sites have not been accessible by vehicle) have begun to take their toll on the equipment. The VCR finally had to be replaced.
The team consists of Greg and Zach Van Schoyck, Diranot Previlus, Dr. Jerry Pennington, if he is in country. Diranot, who works as Dr. Jerry's dental assistant, is a fine young Christian brother, married and with a baby boy. Like Greg, he considers that it is a real ministry to show the Jesus film.
Greg always stresses that the team is acting only as technicians. He leaves it up to the pastor or community leader to make all the preparations. This includes publicizing it, locating a place to show it, people to lead singing, to open in prayer, to give an invitation, to pray with new believers, and to have a follow-up plan. He feels that this puts the responsibility for (and ownership of) the project in Haitian hands.
Glace Bourick is a community identified as having many people involved in voodoo. Our team heard about this community from Milson Jean, a leader in a church near HAFF's campus. He explained that God had placed a burden on his heart for these people. He had been praying for them and visited them several times (at least a two hour walk each way) telling them about his personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Recently ten people had declared Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Could HAFF now help him with some Bibles to distribute and show the Jesus film? We were thankful we had the resources to do both.
Milson was given copies of the Bible verses used in our Scripture memorization program to distribute to those people wanting Bibles. (This is a great teaching opportunity plus earning a Bible makes it a more prized item than if it had been just a hand out.) He agreed to assist with the memory work and teach the meaning of the verses.
To show the film took three attempts over several weeks due to high water in the Bouyaha River that needed to be crossed. Milson had arrived earlier, walking throughout the countryside "broadcasting" via a borrowed megaphone about the movie that night. He wasn't satisfied with only a handful of viewers so he continued with the megaphone across the ravine to make sure everyone, even those at the cockfight (a cultural event akin to a major league game) was aware of what was about to take place. Twenty minutes into the film there were more than 200 people sitting in the grass, seeing the life of Jesus portrayed.
After the film, Milson told us he still had work to do. He would stay in the area to conduct a Sunday worship service the next day. Several days later he reported that two more people had made a public declaration that they would put their trust in Jesus and would try to lead lives that would be pleasing to Him. It is a joy to be able to support our Haitian brothers such as Milson in their ministries.
Often we never know how God has worked in the life of another through our ministry efforts. Therefore it was a special blessing to hear a pastor in a nearby community relate to us how a witch doctor in his area one day became so sleepy he had to take a nap, even though he had clients waiting for his services. While sleeping he saw the Lord Jesus beckoning him, telling him to give up his sinful life and come to Him. The witch doctor awakened, told his clients Jesus had come for him and he couldn't work for them any longer and left in search of the pastor. When he reached the pastor, the witch doctor told him he knew he had to pray to receive Jesus as his Lord and Savior. He did just that.
Later he told the pastor that God had been working in his heart ever since last spring when he saw the JESUS film and heard someone preach, but he had been stubborn and resisted that pulling in his heart. But the day he gave his life to the Lord, he burned to the ground the house where he kept his voodoo fetishes. Several nights later in church he, his wife and their three children gave a public profession of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Haitians do not have much of a cultural jump to make to understand life in Jesus' time. People here still travel mainly by foot or donkey. They till and plant their gardens by hand or with oxen. Their homes are simple – often grass roofs, dirt floors and simple wooden walls. Their babies are born at home with the help of a midwife, and no doubt with chickens looking on. Their babies are tightly wrapped in swaddling clothes. The people of Haiti clearly understand the living conditions Jesus was born into but as with all peoples, we need to pray that God would give them ears to hear and eyes to see the good news of Jesus Christ.