A Beautiful Soul: Enela Blessing Abundantly

I have so much admiration and respect for the Haitian people. Each time I visit Haiti I witness the great faith of the people there. I continually learn more about Christ, His power and His love by spending time with the many heroes of the faith in Haiti. This last trip was no exception. I met a woman named Enela and the brief encounter I had with her has changed me for the better.

Our encounter started when I first saw this frail woman in her 80’s sitting in the bed of our pickup truck waiting for the engine to start in hope of a ride closer to her home. She had been by the “Big Tree” (where a local church meets) watching an American team host an eye clinic and was now ready to go home so she jumped in the first truck she saw — our truck. The sun was beating down and the bed of the truck was already full, over flowing with people. I could not stand the thought of this elderly woman riding like this, so we helped her into the cab of the truck. That was when she sat by Taylor, our daughter-in-law, and when Taylor’s admiration for Enela began.

We bumped along the dirt road until it was near time to deliver our passengers and start the trip back. Enela told us the next time we visit we should come to her home so we could pray over it. We watched as she started quickly walking up the hill. The way she carried herself and the speed at which she was walked made her seem like a woman in her 20’s, not her 80’s.

Taylor and I were intrigued by this beautiful woman and Taylor called out, asking if we could walk her home. With a big bright smile she agreed. We thought that we would be helping her up the hill but soon realized that we could barely keep up with her youthful pace. At this point Jace, my son and our Haitian friend Wilfrid, joined us. This sweet grandma was in great shape and we trailed behind, trying to catch up with each step. When we reached her home she excitedly motioned us to come in.

Her home was made of concrete and had a door that she quickly realized was locked and that her keys were inside. She threw up her hands at this realization and informed us that we must pray and that God would find a way in. And sure enough God used Jace and his Leatherman to pick the lock and in we went. When the lock clicked open she again threw her arms up in praise to God saying “Mesi Jezi” — thank you Jesus, over an over. She motioned for us to sit at her table and got a chair for each of us.

As we gathered around the table she told us that her husband had passed away two months earlier, that she trusts God to take care of her, and that God had given her a dream the night before to go to the “Big Tree” on this day. She went on to describe in her dream God telling her that she would meet some Americans there she needed to talk to. Then she let us know that we were the Americans from the dream. She agin lit up with excitement. With enthusiasm and the true joy of the Lord, she asked if she could pray for us. She prayed and prayed and prayed over us.

This beautiful soul, so devoted to Jesus in such a poverty stricken and Voodoo-filled land, heard the voice of the Lord in her dream and obeyed by finding the Americans at the “Big Tree” that He wanted her to pray over. In her prayer she thanked God for us, she asked God to guide our path and open our eyes to His Truth, to go before us and show us the way to walk in. She asked God to help us know Him more fully and on and on. We, in turn humbly prayed over her home as she asked.

After we prayed she walked us back to our truck, hugged our necks and told us to come back to her house to visit her again. I cannot wait to do exactly that.

Lessons Learned