Expressions of Community
in the Latin America and Caribbean Mission Field
President W. Grant McMurray and Apostle Jim Slauter set out in April to
provide ministry and meet members and friends in the Dominican Republic and
Haiti. The warm reception they received at the Santa Domingo airport exhibited a
joyous expression of community that set the tone for their entire trip.
On McMurray and Slauter’s arrival, a smiling group of children sang in
greeting and presented McMurray with a sombrero that said, “Welcome to
Dominican Republic.” The group was composed of youth from neighborhoods in La
Ramana who have been working with transformation minister G. Arturo Valentin.
April 16-20, McMurray and Slauter attended an area conference with church
leaders from Aruba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica. Appointees Johnny
Stabno and Harry Fielding also provided leadership for the conference.
Translations were given by John Glaser (Spanish) and Jepthe Berard (French and
Creole). McMurray observed that the variety of languages and cultures
represented among this gathering of approximately thirty leaders was a reminder
of the diversity within the Latin America and Caribbean Mission Field and our
entire church.
The primary theme of the conference was the Path of the Disciple with a focus
on “finding relevant expression of the Path of the Disciple for the church in
those countries,” said Slauter. Beyond individuals’ acceptance of the
elements of the path, Slauter was interested in beginning to determine how the
goals of the path will impact the mission of the church in a broader sense, and
in consideration of cultural implications.
Local and visiting leaders made presentations on each element of the path of
the disciple: community, reconciliation, sharing, learning, spirituality, and
justice. Small group dialogue sessions were held after every presentation so
participants from each country could discuss the elements in the context of
their cultures. Slauter said, “It was very interesting how the different
cultural understandings shaped the discussions and informed the dialogue.”
The small groups came together after their discussions to share thoughts with
the entire conference. There were significant differences in the issues
addressed for each country. “This diversity is something we need to understand
and celebrate,” said Slauter. He explained that the differences represent “a
beautiful mosaic of cultures that bring energy, life, and vitality to the
mission of the church,” and keeps us aware that “one-size-fits-all”
ministry will not work.
Local churches led all of the worship experiences, which highlighted the
weeklong conference. On Wednesday evening, the gathering worshiped at the
Luperon congregation in Santa Domingo. The church was filled with people who
traveled from surrounding areas to share the experience. Slauter remembered the
sense of expectancy and excitement that emanated from the congregation as
McMurray spoke to them about what it means to be a community of Christ. Youth
drama performances and several choirs and musical groups also provided ministry.
Rough Roads Lead to Welcoming Communities
On April 21 McMurray, Slauter, Stabno, and Fielding traveled to Haiti. This
was McMurray’s first opportunity to visit Haiti, because a trip planned for
1998 was canceled due to Hurricane Mitch. Slauter noted that the people were
very anxious for McMurray to experience the church in Haiti. “Traveling
throughout Haiti, seeing the very vibrant church we have there, was wonderful,”
said McMurray.
On the first Sunday of their visit, the Petion-Ville
congregation, Haiti Church headquarters, was overflowing with more than 1,200
worshipers. Visiting leaders McMurray, Slauter, Stabno, and Fielding were
treated to a traditional Haitian greeting as four women entered the church to
music with baskets of fresh fruit atop their heads and presented the baskets to
their guests. Slauter said, “It was a wonderful expression of hospitality and
community.” Choirs composed of children, youth, young adults, men, and women
shared music. McMurray brought the message.
One of the women’s choirs also serves as a missionary group that travels
throughout Haiti on the weekends offering ministry. They encounter a great deal
of difficult travel on exceptionally rough roads, riding in buses or the back of
trucks so they can reach people in remote areas. They visit many people in their
homes, giving special attention to people who are ill. The group also provides
ministry of reconciliation to couples experiencing marital difficulties and
offers food, clothes, and ministry in prisons and hospitals.
Choir member Marielle Bérard reported that this group, which started with
six women, now has sixty members. She shared that the women have been touched in
their work by people’s different personalities and how they live. There have
been times when choir members have walked for hours to tell people about Jesus
Christ. On one occasion they had difficulty finding a way home. Since then, the
group has established a goal to secure their own bus to make their outreach more
efficient. They have raised a significant amount of money toward the project and
additional fundraising is planned.
McMurray, Slauter, Fielding, and Haiti national church president Gerard
Bérard spent a day in each of the cities of Hinch, Cap-Haïtien, and Gonaïves,
April 21-23, and visited several small villages and rural congregations in
between. Slauter had not previously been to these areas of Haiti and described
this portion of the trip as life changing.
Slauter said, “The roads we traveled were extremely difficult. I realized
it is part of their everyday life and travel.” Even a one-day trip for
ministers, members, and friends who came to share with the visiting leaders
would have been very tiring. McMurray said, “As we drove the roads, I thought
a lot about the difficulty of those who travel to minister to others in very
difficult and dangerous circumstances day in and day out.”
Along these roads were also remnants of the violence and demonstrations that
have been occurring throughout Haiti. Bérard informed them as they journeyed
over one mountainous road that this location was frequented by robbers. After
several hours of bouncing around in the car and contemplating the reminders of
injustice along the way, Slauter asked Bérard, “Why do you do what you do…traveling
these roads as difficult as they are, risking personal safety and giving
yourself totally for the mission of Jesus Christ and the church?”
Bérard admitted this was a good question, and he was ready with his answer.
“Because at the end of every road and at the end of a hard day,” he said,
“I always find a group of warm, loving people waiting to share God’s love
with [me].” Slauter conveyed that he too had experienced this.
Slauter likened the trip through Haiti to the scriptural journey on the road
to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-39) where the disciples asked a stranger to break bread
with them. They then realized the stranger who had been walking with them was
Jesus. “We have traveled the Emmaus Road,” said Slauter, “and when we
stopped and people broke bread with us-we too encountered the living Christ and
our hearts burned within us.”
Slauter described those he met as warm, loving, gracious, and hospitable
people who suffer day-to-day hardships beyond the comprehension of many. “They
are people of faith, hope, love, and joy,” he said. Slauter witnessed how they
share each other’s pain and grief, bringing comfort in their congregations.
McMurray particularly remembered arriving at one church “where everyone around
was mourning the death of a member who was the mother of several young children.
We visited with her husband and children as people gathered to remember her.”
Slauter saw people sharing the necessities of life unselfishly. “These
people understand that hope isn’t just a dream of a better tomorrow,”
explained Slauter, “but that hope is found in tangible expressions of faith,
grounded in real acts of caring, loving, and sharing. The people we met were
people whose hope was expressed in community-community that is empowered by the
Holy Spirit, bearing witness through others that God is with them even in their
struggle."
As McMurray remembered those he had encountered, he said, “People live in
very difficult circumstances in Haiti and it is a turbulent land in some ways,
but there is great joy and hope in the people sharing in the life of the church
there.” He noted that this is a part of our church with about 18,000 members
that we rarely see at World Church events because of the difficulty in obtaining
visas to leave Haiti. “We experience a loss by not getting to experience their
cultural mix at out gatherings,” said McMurray.
-Kendra Friend
reporting
