We Will Not Be Deterred

Two months ago the we set a date for three days of Timothy Leadership Training with our Haitian partners: October 24-26. Little did we know as we chose this date, that we were making an appointment not only for training but also with a hurricane, Sandy. The plan was for us to receive groups for the materials, "Caring for God's People," "Christian Stewardship," "Teaching the Christian Faith," and "Violence in the Family." Based on our work on the phone, we planned for 60 participants. Honestly, when we found out that Sandy would strike Haiti on October 24, Zach was a little discouraged. All the money for food was distributed and preparations had been made. All of this would go to waste if the participants didn't show up. On the day first day of the Timothy training (the 24th), Zach noticed that the rain was falling horizontally due to a 40 mph wind. A number of the participants that he planned to pick up on the way were no where to be seen. When Zach arrived at the Ministry Center (where the training was supposed to be held), the room was pretty much empty. However, by 9:30 am people started trickling in and by 10 am we had over 50 people! This was a real miracle as Haitians basically don't leave the house in a hurricane, for obvious reasons. On the night of the 24th, the heavens broke loose with a deluge that would have distressed Noah himself. Thursday morning, Zach was crossing water up to the doors of the Toyota LandCruiser (at least 2.5 feet). Amazingly, by 9:30 almost all the participants had returned and were thoroughly soaked since they mostly arrived by motorcycle-taxi (the normal public transport was not running). Again, on Thursday night, the heavens let loose. Friday morning, the entire environment around the Ministry Center was a lake. It would have required a canoe to arrive safely! Astoundingly, the same 45 people who made it on Thursday showed up on Friday. We graduated 4 participants from the first level of training and 2 from the second level. One of our graduates was leading Timothy training for over 135 people in his village every month! We give thanks for the Timothy training and the blessing of all those participants who were undeterred by Hurricane Sandy.