Our first day in Haiti we went into Cite Soleil, which is considered the poorest slum in the Western Hemisphere, to deliver free water to its residents. There are an estimated 300,000 people living there and they have no running water, sewer system or basic infrastructure. Most people who live there make less than $2 per day (if they have a job at all.) The children are often unclothed, filthy and overworked. Even from young ages, they are tasked with carrying heavy 5 gallon buckets of water to their shanty homes blocks away.
As devastating as that sounds, the children of Cite Soleil capture your heart like not much else in the world can. They have determined spirits, unabashed desire for our affections and praise to God on their lips surpassing anything I’ve seen in even the most evangelical Western Church.
I won’t ever forget standing amidst an “outhouse” of excrement along the shores of the Caribbean Sea on the outskirts of Cite Soleil #17. Nor will I forget the beautiful chorus of the roughly 40 Haitian Children with us, chanting “Wi!” in their native Creole tongue at the top of their lungs. (translation: “Oui” in french – it’s closest relative or “yes” in English)
The reason for their intense repeated shouts of Yes? Our translator was egging them on asking them if they wanted to sing “Uncle Wookie” which is a Haitian children’s song that concludes with singing the phrase in English “God is so good!” over and over again. And they could hardly contain themselves with excitement over the prospect.
Did I mention we were standing on a pile of garbage and human waste? And there they were singing at the top of their lungs “God is So Good”!
Because even in our hardest of hard, our darkest of dark, our dirtiest of dirty, God remains forever good. And they cling to that truth with every fiber of their filthy, emaciated, darling little selves.
I won’t ever forget their song of Yes to God. And I pray that it changes how I look at my Savior, and my life, every single day.
Are you experiencing a time of sorrow, hardship or darkness? How can you respond with a “Wi” (Yes) to God?