Haitian reflections 'God is Good'

 'God is good'

Bishop Jean-Lesley Dorcely is the Bishop of the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas Haiti District. He presides over a dynamic church which was the first protestant church in the country, 203 years ago. The District has a growing membership, with presence all over Haiti. The church is deeply embedded within Haitian society, offering care and education through its 11 health clinics and over 100 Methodist schools. The Districts youth are vibrant and passionate about their faith. There is much overseas partners, such as the Methodist Church in Britain, could learn from our Haitian brothers and sisters’ faith and witness.

During the earthquake, the Haiti District suffered loss of life and injury to its members and the destruction of churches, schools and clinics. Bishop Dorcely shared his thoughts, frustrations and words of great encouragement with us:

“As we're approaching the 10th anniversary of the earthquake we give thanks and mercy to the Almighty. The daily challenges we are facing bring a lot of crisis with in the country. We have more homeless people, broken down and single families and many different kinds of hardship. People have still not recovered from the loss of their goods. The nation is still divided. The lack of resources do not allow us (the church) to play a vital role in the community.  Therefore, we are missing the mark to guide and to direct. Even though a lot of resources had been collected for the nation, this is still unsatisfactory. 

Let me say that Haitians people always believe in " God is good" applied to their particular economic situation. When they repeat these words from Psalm 23rd " the Lord is my Shepherd and I shall not want...." it gives them some type of spiritual strength to pursue in the pathway and walk through the situation with no fear on the daily living. They also think that one day things will be better for them and they will rise up for good. This is why in spite of everything the suicide rate in Haiti is one of the lowest in the world. 

All glory be to God!”