Significance in Haiti: 2009

Pastor JeanJean supports 25 church plants and the pastors return every week to attend pastoral training classes, They also use this as a time of accountability for each other. One pastor walks for a day and a half, four others walk for eleven hours, and a few others walk 4 to 7 hours to attend every week. Debbie was to speak on Wed. morning about the ecology. She had already spoke to a couple of groups and two schools. People got real excited about what she was teaching in fact Pastor JeanJean got a call from a man in his church that asked if JeanJean could delay the start of class because him and some other men wanted to attend. Debbie was telling how the owls and hawks eat rats and mice when one of the men interrupted saying that they wish that the birds would do a better job. The rats would come into the houses at night and eat thier feet as they sleep. Debbie told them that even though the food supply was there the owls and hawks don't have any place to breed because all the trees have been cut down. (97% of Haiti has been deforrested) As she spoke the men were getting very excited she how the other birds eat the insects that eat the vegetables in their gardens and they also eat the mosquitos that cause malaria. It was amazing to watch. The men were sitting on the edge of their chairs. She went on to talk about how the dumping of the soapy water into the rivers was killing the fish. When she finished her two hour class one pastor said " For years when our babies have died we have said that the evil has eaten them up. Now you have showed us that we are a part of the evil. No one ever explain it to us this way before. We can change this". Another pastor slapped the arm of his chair and said "Haiti has just been reborn. Debbie is planning to return to Haiti to do more teaching if you would like to be a part of this ministry contact her at www.zwazoyo.blogspot.com.

This is the story I promised. If you know of a publisher that would be interested in this story please let me know. I would like to get put copy in every household that has a child in Haiti. Remember "a little child shall led them". If we can mobilize the children Haiti can return to the way God made it.

THE LITTLE BASKET A Story of Haiti
Little Gracie was in her most favorite place in the wide world. She was not in the cave in the mountains where she and her friends spent so many hours playing. They would pretend to be famous explorers discovering new worlds like her Haitian home. It was great fun but that wasn’t her most favorite place. Was it the garden where she helped tend to the cabbages and beans? No! That was not it either even though she loved to get her hands dirty in the cool soil. Nether was it at church with its great music. Gracie really liked church and Pastor JeanJean and especially the singing. It was beautiful and she would sing along. Pastor JeanJean said she had a beautiful voice and one day maybe she would lead the worship service. She would like that very much. She also enjoyed her Sunday school class where she learned all the wonderful Bible stories and some time the teacher would bring special treats for the class. That was a great place but that was not her most favorite place in the whole world. Gracie’s most favorite place in the whole world was sitting on the dirt floor with her head resting on her grandmother’s lap. The sun was going down and the breeze from the mountains was cooling the house down. Grandma had always told her stories just before bedtime every since Gracie was a baby. Gracie loved her grandmother more than anyone. She would tell Gracie Bible stories about little children like Gracie. There was the story about the little boy named David and how he killed a lion and a bear. She could still see the picture of the lion in grandmother’s Bible. The lion was a vicious looking animal. Gracie would still shiver when she thought of those big teeth. Then there were the stories of David and the Giant, and Jesus talking with all the teachers and amazing them with his knowledge. At the end of all the stories she would say “Some day little Gracie you will do great things.” This week the stories were very very special and Gracie was so excited she couldn’t wait. Grandma had been telling stories about her childhood for the past week. She told how she and her friends could run and play for miles under a canopy of trees and not cross any sunlight, but now there were only a few trees. She told about there being so many birds that the flocks would darken the sky. Grandmother especially loved the beautiful parakeets. They were so numerous that when they landed in a tree the branches would bend almost to the ground. Gracie could see the sadness in grandma’s face when she talked about how her beloved parakeets were almost gone. There are very few left to enjoy. “Don’t worry grandma,” Gracie would say. “One day they will come back.” Grandma would smile, put her hand on Gracie’s shoulder and say “One day you will do great things.” Gracie didn’t know it but she only had two more days to listen to grandma’s stories. Gracie came home from school and saw Pastor JeanJean standing at the door of her house. She was happy to see him. He was such a nice man and always had a smile on his face, but today she noticed there was no smile on his face as he walked to the gate to meet her. Funerals are preformed very quickly in Haiti and that evening and the next day were a blur for Gracie. She would sit for hours just staring at grandmother’s empty chair.Family and friends came from miles around to visit grandmother one last time. Grandmother had been greatly loved and would be dearly missed. Pastor JeanJean spoke at the gravesite about grandmother’s love for God’s creation, the trees that once covered all of Haiti, her beloved parakeets, and how she would share with others even when she had so little. Gracie didn’t hear any of what Pastor JeanJean was saying. She couldn’t get grandma’s last story out of her head. It was like grandma was still talking to her. Like when she told Gracie that Jesus had been teaching a large crowd of people for a long time and everyone was very hungry but there was not enough food. Then a small child her age offered Jesus his small basket of food and Jesus created a miracle and feed all those thousands of people. There was even a lot of large baskets of food left over. “A small basket of food.”Thosewords kept running over and over through Gracie’s mind. A few days later as Gracie was walking home from school, she past Pastor JeanJean’s house. Today he was standing outside of his gate. He smiled at her as he called out to her. “Good afternoon Gracie. How are you and your family?” “Fine. Thank you,” Gracie responded. “Pastor,” Gracie went on, “I have been thinking about the boy who gave his small basket of lunch to Jesus and how Jesus fed a lot of people with it. I just can’t stop thinking about it. Do you know why?” (Know why what? Why he fed the people or why she can’t stop thinking about it?) Pastor JeanJean smiled and shook his head and said “But I have a visitor from the United States that I think you would like to meet.” “From the United States?” Gracie repeated. “Wow!” She hadn’t actually talked with someone from there before. Many teams of Americans had come to Haiti but she had never talked to any of them. “Well?” asked Pastor JeanJean. “Do you want to meet her?” “Yes, I would like that very much.” “Good,” said Pastor JeanJean, “Because I think she might be able to help you with your question.” This was so exciting thought Gracie as she walked with Pastor JeanJean down the driveway. It was also kind of frightening. What if this lady didn’t like her. Suddenly Gracie saw her on standing on the patio under the big tree.She was pretty Gracie thought, and then the lady smiled and Gracie knew they would be good friends. “Gracie,” said JeanJean, “this is Ms. Debbie and she loves birds and trees as muchas your grandmother did.” Gracie and Debbie became close friends. They would go looking for birds early in the morning before school. Gracie would tell Debbie about the stories her grandmother told.Debbie would tell Gracie how God created all of nature to work together. She told Graciehow the woodpeckers make holes in the trees and then the parakeets build nests in the holes. The birds worked together to help each other. Gracie learned that owls and hawks would catch and eat rats and mice. Gracie showed Debbie the scars on her feet where the rats had tried to eat her feet while she slept. “I wish the owls and hawks would do a better job,”said Gracie. “There are not enough trees for the birds to make nests in and have families.” said Debbie. “Did you know that birds also eat the mosquitoes that cause malaria, and otherinsects that get into your garden and eat your vegetables?” Today was going to be a special day. Debbie had promised to show Gracie something new. Gracie ran up the driveway to where Debbie was waiting on the patio under the Big Tree. “Hi, Ms. Debbie!” “Hi, Gracie!” Debbie was holding a plastic cup in her hand. “What is that?” asked Gracie. “This,” said Debbie, “is a water testing kit.” We are going to the river to test the water quality and I will show you how to do it. We will then share the data with scientists all over the world. They will use it for their research.” Gracie was amazed, “You mean people all over the world are interested in Haiti?” “They sure are,” said Debbie. The river was an hours walk away but the time went very fast. They talked and laughed all the way. Debbie told Gracie that when the wash ladies dump the soapy water into the river it changes the water so that the fish can’t survive. And when there are no trees the soil washes into the river and kills even more fish. And the fish that are left are too small to eat. Fish used to be a large source of food for the Haitian people.Gracie grew quiet and Debbie could tell she was thinking about something. “Debbie,” Gracie finally said “is all the sickness in Haiti caused because we pollute the water and cut down the trees?” “No, not all but some of it is,” Debbie replied. Without the trees and soil the gardens can’t grow, grass won’t grow and the cows and goats don’t get enough to eat and can’t produce enough milk for the people. When people don’t have enough to eat then they can’t fight off sicknesses. ” They returned home and were walking past the nursery that Pastor JeanJean started. They stopped and watched the men watering the saplings. “What kind of trees are those that are just coming up?” asked Gracie. “Those are coffee trees,” one of the men said. “My grandmother loved coffee,” Gracie told Debbie. Suddenly Gracie got really excited. “I know! I know!” “What do you know, Gracie?” asked Debbie. “I know what the little basket means,” said Gracie and, seeing Debbie’s confused look, explained. “My grandmother’s last story was about a small boy my age who gave his small lunch basket to Jesus. Jesus took it and fed it to thousands of people. I have not been able to stop thinking about it and how it applies to me. Debbie, I can plant trees. I can plant trees and I can help my mother when she washes clothes by dumping the soapy water up on the bank so the sand can filter the soap out.” “That is very good,” Debbie said, “but you can’t plant very many trees by yourself.” “No,” said Gracie, “but my schoolmates and I can together.” “Gracie, that is a great idea, and I can help. This week I will be teaching ecology class at schools all around the area. I will tell your story to them and ask them to join your movement. One day every child in Haiti will plant trees. The birds will start multiplying and so will the fish. Haiti will be the most beautiful place on earth again. You are on your way to doing very great things for Haiti.” Debbie is Assistant Director of the Central Plains Center for BioAssessment, an aquatic ecology research unit at the Kansas Biological Survey, USA. She is also an avid nature lover and bird watcher. Her love for God’s creation and the people of Haiti was the inspiration for this story. Gracie’s story could be your story. Will you join her movement to plant tress a clean up the water in Haiti? For more information, visit www.zwazoyo.blogspot.com. Isaiah 11:6. In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together. The leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all.