Monday, March 25, 2013

In Haiti: Encountering the Good News

Last week I was in Haiti. I went to the washroom, and there was a Haitian man, probably about my age, serving as attendant and fetching paper towels. He didn’t speak English, but I thanked him in French and noticed that he had a book, bound in black. La Sainte Bible. The Holy Bible. And he told me in French, “That’s my Bible. I read it every day, to learn about salvation and how to bear suffering.” I said, I believe too. He said with delight, “You’re a Christian? I believe in God the Father, and Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, and the good news, and John the Baptist.” So we talked about that.

I have now visited the two poorest countries in the Americas, Haiti and Nicaragua, and in both places I have encountered people living in poverty who have rejoiced in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. They are not ashamed of the Gospel. But maybe we - meaning North Americans - are. We need to ask ourselves: Can we have a conversation about our faith with a stranger? Can we tell someone we have never met what it is we believe, and what it means to our lives to follow Jesus?

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