A Bittersweet Moment

Graduates sing in honor of one of their professors who lost his life days before the graduation.

In Haiti it often feels like some of the greatest successes come at times of greatest frustration or heartache.  Last summer Zachary attended the graduation ceremony for a group of teachers and school administrators that participated in a several-year-long training program put on by the Consortium for the Reinforcement of Christian Education (CRECH).  This training program, supported by CRWM-Haiti, aims to make Christian educators more effective in the classroom.  Several weeks before the graduation ceremony, one of the program's trainers was abducted in Carrefour, a suburb of Port-au-Prince long troubled by crime.  During these weeks, the professor's students prayed unceasingly for his safe return.  For reasons no human being will ever understand, these prayers were not answered.  In the day preceding the ceremony, the body of this trainer was found.  As can be imagined, the graduation ceremony was very emotional.  While giving thanks for the successful completion of the training, many of the students lamented the loss of a beloved educator and friend.  It was touching to see just how influential this educator was as many graduates recounted how much they had learned from him.  We were reminded of the Apostle Paul's battle with God over the "thorn in his flesh" (2 Cor. 12).  While we don't know what troubled Paul, we know that he repeatedly and at length pleaded with God for its removal (12:8).  God's response was not to answer Paul's prayer, but rather to tell him, "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness" (12:9).  We don't know why God permitted this gifted educator to be lost, but Zachary saw evidence that God had used him in a powerful way to change the lives of a group of teachers and principles who will never forget his Christian witness.