I would like to spend a little time talking about some other missions in our area. The one I'm focusing on today is located in a slum in Cayes called Renault. A family who lives to the west of Cayes has several missions, and this is one they started several years ago.
Each Sunday morning, they come to Renault and have a Sunday School for the children. There are over 1,000 children that come each Sunday. There, they sing, pray and learn Bible stories. Some children get to answer Bible questions, and if they get the answer right they can get a new piece of clothing or shoes. The day we went along and visited, they watched the last part of the Jesus Film, where He was crucified and resurrected. There is a lot of energy in the place, but the kids are well behaved, as they know that if they don't, they'll be asked to leave. And at the end, they all get a bag of rice as they leave.
(Kind of like Where's Waldo....can you find the white guy :)?)
Scott and Mandy and their family go along most Sunday mornings. They help provide basic medical care for people who have cuts, worms, etc.
We really had a fulfilling time going to Renault. We really appreciate how the whole mission was carried out. The kids come in whatever clothes they have, and a lot are barefoot. In a country that is so incredibly poor, it is so frustrating when people tell us they can't go to church because they don't have good clothes or the "right" shoes. Here in Renault, there is no expectation of having to dress up in order to hear the Word of God.
When the Wray's started coming to this area several years ago, they weren't always welcomed. But as time went on, people have become accepting and more welcoming. And you can see results. Kids who are praising Jesus, kids who know their Bible stories, families who get rice to help feed their families for the week, and hair that is no longer orange from malnutrition. As someone said, most of these kids have no real "hope" in this life of making it out of the cycle of poverty that they're in. Most will never leave Renault. Most will never have an education, or a nice house, or a good job. Most will just survive. But if they come to know Jesus as their Savior, then they have a hope for the life to come.
Recently we came across a couple YouTube videos that the Wray's have made of the Renault kids and their mission. They're pretty neat. Check out "Sunday School in a Haitian Slum" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmRJV63jTk0. Then look for "Camp Mahanaim - Renault Children, July 2014" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYXl-XMYAh8. This one shows the mission where the Wray's live and share the gospel through sports. The song in this video is "Kings and Queens"....such a moving song, written by a group to help an orphanage in Jacmel, Haiti. I could listen to this song every day. It's so neat that these kids could have some fun, bright spots in their lives that they probably don't get very often.
"Break our hearts once again
Help us to remember when
We were only children hoping for a friend
These are the lives that the world has forgotten
Waiting for doors of our hearts and our homes to open.
Boys become kings, girls will be queens
Wrapped in Your majesty
When we love, when we love the least of these
Then they will be brave and free
Shout Your name in victory
When we love, when we love the least of these
When we love the least of these."
-Kings and Queens, Audio Adrenaline
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